Purpose of whitewashing trees

The tradition of covering tree trunks with lime mortar arose a long time ago and remains popular at the present time. And there are several reasons for this:

• Protection from exposure to direct sunlight, which often leads to very severe burns on the bark of plants. And if you cover the barrel with a protective layer, then you can prevent overheating and cracking.
• Smoothing out the effects of temperature fluctuations. A protected tree will not overheat under the sun, icing and freezing of the wood surface will be excluded. Prevention of frost cracks will not allow harmful spores to develop in the bark.
• Pest protection. Lime and fungicides destroy insects and microorganisms, protect the bark from being eaten by animals.

Some inexperienced gardeners have heard the opinion that whitewashing garden trees can harm young seedlings. But it is not so.

If you take a high concentration of the solution, then damage to the young bark can be done. It is more correct to soften the composition or purchase a special paint for plants and cover the trees with them.

When whitewash is produced

Gardeners must carry out work related to the processing of trees on time. If you stick to the schedule — 2 times a year, you can protect plants as much as possible from the negative effects of external factors.

Autumn work

During this period of the year, it is important to carry out a comprehensive protection of such fruit trees as apple, cherry, pear and plum. They are highly susceptible to the negative effects of temperature changes. This is also important because:

• pests die — mites, aphids, leafworms, codling moths;
• the concentration of harmful bacteria decreases;
• the trees are protected from the spring sun and the unstable thaw.

At the same time, if you work early, the autumn rains will wash away the paint, and if you are late, the frost will damage the trees. Therefore, whitewashing of trees in autumn is carried out in October-November, before the onset of active frosts.

spring processing

Work can be carried out in March-April. The main thing is to choose a warm dry day. During this period of time, the trunks often begin to warm up to 11 degrees, which causes the activation of sap flow. Lowering the temperature at night in this case is fraught with tissue damage and the appearance of frost holes. Spring whitewash:

• protects trees from early awakening, trunks from burns and night frosts;
• helps to kill pests.

It is important to correctly calculate the dosage and not harm the vegetation. Do not delay the treatment, so as not to miss the activation of insects.

In the course of work, the flaky bark is removed from the trunk, it is cleaned of larvae, lichen or moss. In the photo of whitewashing trees, you can see how to proceed correctly when applying solutions to the bark.

What materials to use

When carrying out protective measures in the garden, it is necessary to prepare a flywheel paint brush based on unnatural material. A flute brush will work too. However, it is advisable to use them when processing small gardens.

And if there are a lot of trees, then you need an airbrush. You also need to stock up on special solutions. They can be prepared in many ways, but include three important components:

• pigment to give a white tint (chalk or lime, for example);
• adhesive composition;
• fungicide.

Preparing a solution at home

The easiest way to protect plants in the garden is to use whitewash lime or chalk mortar. In this case, you can use several effective recipes:

Lime for whitewashing (slaked) or chalk in an amount of 3 kg is diluted in 10 liters of water. Additionally, it is necessary to add 0.5 kg of copper sulfate to the solution, as well as casein glue (about 100 g) or 2-3 tablespoons of flour paste. All ingredients are mixed and infused for several hours.

The following components are mixed in 10 liters of water — lime (2 kg), clay (1 kg), manure shovel and copper sulfate (250 g). The solution can be used after 2-4 hours after preparation.

It is necessary to take 300 g of fluffy lime. Add vitriol (2 tablespoons) and a little glue to it — up to 200 g. The whole composition must be mixed in 2 liters of water. You should also add 200 g of clay and Karbofos in an amount of 25 g.

It is required to heat 2 liters of water. Dissolve lime (2 kg), vitriol (400 g) and glue (100 g) in it. After that, mix everything and add 8 liters of water. Mix the solution thoroughly.

With all the simplicity of preparing such a composition at home, it is not too durable and is easily washed off the trees. Therefore, the treatment must be carried out twice a year.

Acrylic and water-based paints

Good protection of tree trunks can be achieved by coating them with acrylic paint. It has components that have antifungal and bactericidal effects. Water-based paint is durable.

A dense protective layer will be created on the surface of the tree, which will not be washed off and will stably withstand the action of sunlight. But at the same time, the film will allow the tree to breathe freely.

The disadvantage is the inability to act on insect pests. Therefore, copper-containing substances are added to the composition.

The water-dispersion solution is distinguished by the presence of latex and antiseptic in the composition. The breathable solution stays on the trunk for more than 2 years, protecting the plant from ultraviolet radiation. Wood treatment with such paint should be carried out at a temperature of at least 3 degrees.

How to properly whitewash

In the spring, work is carried out with the onset of warm days, but before the first leaves appear. But in the fall you should not wait for the first frosts. It is important to prepare tree trunks for processing. Our instructions on how to whitewash trees will help you to correctly perform all the manipulations.

Preparatory work

The first step is to thoroughly clean the bark. You should wait for damp, damp weather and carefully remove the destroyed or no longer viable bark from the trunk and skeletal branches. It is also necessary to remove the appeared moss and lichens.

Do not use tools that will damage the plant. Use your hands. A sliver or a sharp peg will help treat cracks and inaccessible cavities. All removed material must be destroyed by fire.

The bark must also be treated with a disinfectant. You can buy ready-made compositions, for example, «Khom» or «Abiga-peak». But many are able to easily dilute the solution themselves:

• dilute 300 g of copper sulfate or 600 g of iron sulfate in 10 liters of water;
• heat 10 liters of liquid, dissolve a 50 gram bar of laundry soap there, as well as 3 kg of ash. Then the solution must be cooled.

The disinfectant composition can be applied with a brush or spray. The layer should be thin and not drip down. It is important that it begins to settle on the surface and soak into it.

Tree processing technology

If you use an airbrush, then the material consumption will be slightly higher compared to the traditional method of applying the solution. To make the process go much faster, you can pre-select the brushes, the size of which would correspond to the thickness of the trunk and its branches.

You need to apply the whitewash composition for trees using a soft and fairly wide brush. It should easily penetrate into the most inaccessible places. The solution covers the trunk to a height of 1.5-1.7 m, providing a protective coating to the lower skeletal branches.

The layer of applied whitewash should be about 2-3 mm. It should not be covered with an excessively thick cover, as it will quickly crack, and then crumble after complete drying.

It is recommended to rake the soil near the trunk, and then cover it with mortar below ground level. After drying, the soil returns to its place.

Sometimes the barrel coating dries out, turning grey. In this case, you need to use a brush and re-apply whitewash until a white tint is obtained.

Timely processing of the trunk and main skeletal branches will protect your garden from pests and the negative effects of natural factors. You are not required to implement super-complex measures. Any beginner gardener can easily cope on their own.

Photo of the process of whitewashing trees