Have you ever noticed that young trees are often painted white in winter? In case you were wondering why that is, here's the explanation.
lime paint
Lime paint against frost damage and more
The so-called lime coating serves to protect young trees from weather damage. Frost and cold bother the bark, it bursts open and becomes a gateway for damage. However, browsing by game is also a problem that trees have to struggle with again and again. Lime paint can also have a preventive effect here.
effect
What does the lime paint really work against?
The natural product lime is available in many colors, it is used here as a pigment. Since the bright white color can reflect the sun's rays, lime paint is particularly suitable for fruit trees.
Lime paint works against many problems, especially on fruit trees:
- Protection against frost damage
- Protection against game browsing
- protection against diseases
Lime painting on trees in the garden
antifreeze
Apply lime paint as frost protection
Although the sun can shine in winter, temperatures are icy and trees freeze. The result is cracks in the fruit tree bark. This happens because the tree is usually only irradiated by the sun from one side. On this side, the bark expands from the heat, while on the other side it stiffens. Since young trees still have very thin bark, this uneven distribution of heat causes cracks that are a gateway for pathogens.
How does lime paint work against the cold?
If you apply lime to the trunk of your young fruit tree, the sun will be strongly reflected and the heat cannot spread. Thus, the bark does not expand and there are no cracks. As a result, your tree is better protected from invading pathogens.
In addition, growth is delayed in winter due to the lime coating. Flower buds do not sprout as quickly and are not exposed to the danger of late frost.
attaching
Applying lime to protect against deer browsing
In winter, deer are almost continuously foraging for food. It's a blessing, but the young bark of your fruit tree doesn't have to be straight. However, this is with deer and co. very popular because it is tasty and easy to bite into. The addition of lime makes the young bark taste bitter and the game is less likely to use it.
What happens in the event of a deer bite?
If deer feed on the bark of a young tree, there is a risk that the tree will die. This happens because the vessels for nutrients and water are located in the bark. Bite damage can mean that nutrients can no longer be transported to the leaves and branches and the tree withers.
time
When is the right time for lime painting?
In theory, you can apply the paint all year round. The right time has come as soon as a tree is planted. It is important that you apply the paint before the first frost, so that the first winter can be survived without any problems. A dry day with lots of sun is best so that the paint is not immediately washed off by the rain. With faded old paintwork, you can always grab a brush and apply new lime paint.
Lime painted tree
Before lime painting
Carry out the lime coating optimally
Before you apply the lime, you should consider a few important factors. A young tree can usually be treated immediately because its bark is still smooth and absorbs the paint well. An older tree, on the other hand, has rough bark that contains cracks in many places. Here you must first remove the loose bark with a spatula.
Tip: You don't have to remove lichens, as they will be displaced by the lime paint anyway.
The most important tips in brief:
- prepare older trees and remove loose pieces of bark
- You can paint all year round
- Best protection is achieved when applied before the first frost
- choose a dry, sunny day for treatment
- pale lime coats can always be repeated
The ingredients for making the paint
If you want to apply lime to protect your trees, you can easily make the paint you need yourself. Hardware store products are often more expensive than buying the ingredients you need.
basic recipe
The basic recipe for the lime coating
- ten liters of water
- 1.5 kilograms of quicklime
- 500 grams of wallpaper paste
Apply lime paint to tree bark
Making the color
Before you start mixing, you should protect yourself with gloves and safety glasses. Lime vapors, is warm and corrosive. You need a large bucket, rinsed paint buckets are well suited! First, the lime powder is put into the bucket, then the water is poured in by the liter.
Important: Be careful not to spread any splashes, because lime is corrosive. You should also not inhale the resulting vapors. If available, you can wear a protective mask.
Do not add the wallpaper paste until you are ready to apply the paint.
Lime paint additions
Make additives for lime paint
If you want to make your trees particularly happy, you can add nutrients to your self-made lime paint. This gives the tree even better protection from pests.
Good additions are:
- cow dung
- horsetail broth
- horn meal
- tansy broth
Winter Horsetail, Equisetum hyemale
The paint
All you need to get started is the paint and a thick pom pom. Both the trunk and the leading branches are deleted.
- start painting just above the ground and work your way up to the thick branches
- leave out young shoots and fresh buds
You may have to repeat the painting a few times. Please note that there must be a waiting time of at least 24 hours between two coats of paint.