An interesting concept! It definitely took me a minute to figure out exactly how it worked, but once I did it became an enjoyable but relaxed little challenge. It could maybe benefit from just 1 or 2 more mechanics to make the gameplay a little more exciting. Good job overall!

I was pretty confused at first, but I understood the concept easily. It does need some challenge or penalty, like maybe you can only place so many leaves in a certain time and such

This concept has potential!
But I was very confused and lost a lot but could not understand why

Funnily enough, a friend of mine suggested something very similar when asked for ideas for the theme.
I spent the first few tries building a trunk and then wondering why I died as I instantly shriveled up. I did eventually figure it out though, and built some gargantuan trees :)