Whitening an apple tree in the fall - how and what is the best way to whiten apple trees before winter

Why do you need to whiten an apple tree in the fall?

Autumn whitewashing of apple trees is not needed to make the garden more attractive. This simple procedure protects the bark on the trunk and the lower part of the skeletal branches from a number of problems:

1. Sunburn. Most often they occur from the second half of January until the onset of warm weather. The bright sun overheats the bark, which is not very flexible, because the tree is dormant. As a result, it bursts and the damage can be simply enormous.
2. Frostbreakers. This is the name given to cracks running along the wood fibers, which appear during severe frosts and can be quite deep. In this case, the damage may close in the spring, but appear again in winter, which is dangerous due to the development of rot inside the tree and the formation of a hollow.
3. Cracks in the bark. They appear when there is a lot of moisture in the covers, which, when frozen, simply breaks the surface and can cause numerous minor damage over the entire area. The greater the temperature changes between day and night, the more damage there will be.
4. Pests and diseases. Firstly, larvae and spores of fungal diseases often overwinter in the folds of the bark and under its peeling areas, and the insects themselves can also be found there. Secondly, they damage surfaces immediately after warming, when the tree is weakened.
5. Rodents. Hares, mice and other small animals can greatly damage the bark in winter. A layer of whitewash eliminates this problem almost completely.

By the way!

If you bleach the trunk annually, the tree's immunity is strengthened and it is much better able to resist pests and diseases.

Is whitewashing of trunks necessary?

Whitewashing the trunks is definitely necessary. The dark trunk attracts the sun's rays - as a result, burns are formed, and the white color has the ability to reflect ultraviolet radiation. A dangerous situation occurs in winter, around January. When, as daylight increases, bright rays heat the bark, causing premature sap flow. And at night there is no sun, and the temperature drops sharply. The liquid crystallizes, leading to tissue ruptures.

Often a similar situation occurs in the spring. When during the daytime the air warms up to +10–15°C, and at night the temperature drops below 0°C. Such sudden changes lead to a violation of the integrity of the outer cover of the tree. In autumn, whitewashing is especially recommended for warm regions where tree trunks are not insulated for the winter.

In the summer, such a process leads to overheating of the fruit tree trunk and excessive sap flow during fruit ripening. It is autumn whitewashing that protects apple trees from the negative effects of the sun.

Treatment of the outer cover of a tree allows you to get rid of a huge number of microorganisms, insect pests, and pathogenic fungi that have chosen the bark. A tree whitened in autumn will not be eaten by rodents.

Attention! Whitewashing apple trees in the fall will be more effective if it is renewed in February–March, when the average daily temperature is +5–6 °C.

At what age do you start whitewashing wood?

Basic recommendations:

1. It is better to whiten apple trees from the first year after planting. This will immediately provide protection from all adverse effects.
2. Treat mature trees annually. In this case, the concentration of lime in whitewash for large trees should be twice as high as for young trees.

You should not miss this moment: if the bark has always been protected, but remains without whitewash for one winter, most likely it will be damaged in the spring.

Whitewash to combat: fungus, hares, rodents, ants

To protect the tree bark from fungus, hares, rodents and ants during the autumn whitewashing of the fruit tree, it is necessary to use a whitening solution based on copper sulfate with the addition of creolin and “Knockdown” .

Such a solution will destroy fungal spores, which are most often located in microcracks in the tree bark, and ant eggs laid under the bark.

Also, this solution will emit a repellent odor for hares and rodents, who in winter are not averse to eating apple bark.

When to whiten the trunks of apple trees in the fall, timing

To figure out when you need to whiten apple trees in the fall, you should use simple recommendations for different regions:

1. In the Moscow region and central Russia, work is most often carried out in the second half of October. It is best to do this shortly before constant frost, while the temperature outside should be positive.
2. In the Urals and Siberia, the dates are shifted to the first half of October, and sometimes to the end of September. It all depends on when the cold weather arrives in a particular region.
3. In the southern regions, whitewashing is most often planned for November. There is no need to rush to apply a protective layer shortly before the cold snap.

Important!

There is no question about when it is better to carry out work - in autumn or spring. The first option is considered the main one, the second is also mandatory, since it allows you to protect plants from pests and renew the layer. Spring whitewashing is most often carried out in April. And if in the middle of summer the coating was washed away by rains, it is worth repeating it a third time to protect the trunk.

Preparation of the solution

Another important question is how to whiten apple trees in the fall. The type of coloring solution can be different and vary depending on the purpose for which this procedure is being carried out. A popular option is to prepare a lime-based solution; to create it you need to mix in equal proportions:

• quicklime;
• clay;
• any glue, wood or casein is recommended.

Fill the entire contents with water so that it makes up 50% of the total volume. The solution should be viscous, similar in consistency to sour cream. This whitewashing is needed to prevent pests and protect against frost.

If the tree is located in an open area, you can protect its bark from sunlight. To do this, you need to prepare a solution consisting of the following components:

• 300 g fluff lime;
• ½ glass of milk;
• glue in liquid form;
• 2 liters of water;
• 5 g copper sulfate;
• 5 g DDT in powder form.

This type of autumn whitewashing from apple trees is suitable for young seedlings and old trees. Its additional property is to protect tree bark from penetration of pests, eliminate their larvae and increase immunity to diseases.

On a note!

As the main composition, you can also use acrylic or water-based paint or a ready-made solution for whitewashing fruit trees, which can be purchased at a store for gardeners and gardeners.

Preparing an apple tree for whitewashing

To ensure the best effect, you need to combine cleaning and whitewashing of both old apple tree trunks and relatively young ones. Properly organized work consists of several important stages.

Cleaning the trunk bark

First of all, you should remove all peeling areas; it is most convenient to do this after precipitation, when the bark is damp. Such situations are typical for adult apple trees; young apple trees do not have this problem.

Another problem is mosses and lichens; they need to be destroyed in advance by generously moistening the surface with a solution of iron sulfate. After 10 days, you need to remove the dead elements with a stiff brush.

Important!

When carrying out any work, you need to cover the surface around the trunk to collect all the remains and burn them.

What is the best way to whiten trees?

There are three options for whitening fruit trees in the fall from diseases and pests: water-based paint, water-dispersed paint or lime mortar. The first two options are more economical: most likely, the whitewash will not need to be renewed in the spring. To make the paint stick better, it is diluted with water (for 1 liter of paint - 5 liters of liquid). The paint must indicate that it can be used for gardening. If a substance is intended exclusively for construction work, it cannot be used.

Instructions - how to properly whiten an apple tree in the fall

It should be noted right away that apple trees need to be bleached at a temperature of at least 5°C so that the composition can be absorbed and dried normally. Apply a layer of about 3 mm; if it is thicker, there is a high risk of the whitewash cracking after drying.

Painting a young apple tree and seedling

In this case, you should select a brush with a width no larger than the barrel, so that it is convenient to work. You don’t need to buy a large muffler, it won’t be of much use. After preparing one of the types of whitewash solution and letting it sit (standard – 2 hours), you can start working.

Apply the composition from bottom to top, spreading evenly on all sides, leaving no unpainted areas. It is also worth applying the composition to the lower part of skeletal branches, if any. If the tree is small, treat only the part up to the first branches.

Step-by-step instruction

Apple trees are whitened for the winter like this:

1. You should prepare the solution and leave it to infuse in a dark and cool place for two hours. If paint or a ready-made solution is used for this purpose, then you just need to open the container.
2. Protect your skin and respiratory tract by wearing a respirator, gloves and thick work clothing.
3. Stir the solution until it reaches a homogeneous, lump-free consistency.
4. Using a shovel, fork or rake, remove the soil in the tree trunk circle at a distance of 4-5 cm.
5. Start painting the wood from top to bottom, applying the composition in a thin but dense layer. If the tree is mature, you can start doing this at a distance of 1.5 to 2 meters from ground level. If this is a seedling, then you can cover the trunk with a white substance up to the lower branches. It is required to go 4 cm downwards.
6. Wait until the solution dries, then put the soil that was removed back, again forming a circle around the trunk.

If after completing the work there is still whitewash left, you can pour it in an even layer around the trunk. It will become an additional disinfectant for the soil against pests and their larvae that have remained in the ground for the winter.

How to choose the composition of whitewash: mixtures and preparations

Choosing a mixture for whitewashing trees is more difficult than it might seem at first glance. At different times of the year and in different regions, the ingredients can vary dramatically, depending on what exactly the trunks need to be protected from. The mixture should include whitewash, an adhesive component and a fungicide so that the trees are beautiful and healthy, and the fungus does not grow under the bark. The composition for effective whitewashing of trees in the fall may include:

1. Slaked lime and chalk. It is most often used to whiten trees both in the city and outside the city. The bright color reflects the sun's rays just like white clothes and protects the delicate bark of fruit trees from sunburn.
2. Clay (white or yellow, not cosmetic). It is added to mixtures, firstly, for viscosity and stickiness. Secondly, it will act as a putty for cracks that have already appeared.
3. Copper sulfate is a common fungicide. In addition to it, Bordeaux mixture, Hom, or any other garden preparation, diluted in the required concentration and added to the mixture, can be used. Do not neglect it when whitewashing - fungi reproduce well under a layer of lime, in convenient anaerobic conditions.
4. Glue must be added for “stickiness” in order to keep the whitewash on the trunks longer. Any organic glue will do: wood glue, casein glue, fish glue or wallpaper glue. But you should not use PVA for this purpose. It does not allow the bark to “breathe”, and this is far from good for the tree. You can also use soap. Although it does not stick so tightly to the bark, it interacts with it much more gently and certainly does not interfere with cellular respiration.

5. Mullein, which the Chinese tend to poetically call “autumn liquid.” We are not talking about a flower tincture, but about a rotted slurry made from 20% cow manure - one of the most effective fertilizers that can be found. Added to whitewash, mullein simultaneously gives viscosity to the composition, an antiseptic effect, and also nourishes the plant bark in the same way as a nourishing cream does human skin.
6. Carbolic acid (carbolic acid) should be added not so much as an antiseptic, but “for flavor.” It is usually used in the fall - not only do hares and rodents not like limescale, but the carbolic smell from the trunks will even force them to walk around the garden in a wide arc.

Even store-bought mixtures will contain at least a couple of ingredients from this list. But you can mix good whitewash at home, if you have time and patience.

Features of whitewashing trees in different regions

Recently, in the Moscow region, they stopped whitewashing trees in city parks and plantings - officially for aesthetic reasons. While the regions are still deciding whether to follow the capital’s example, summer residents from Siberia and the Urals to the western and southern districts continue to repaint their trunks white, guided not by the ideas of urban gardeners, but by the well-being of their garden. In the southern regions of the country, especially in a continental climate, trees are usually whitened annually, or even several times a year. The wind and the loving southern sun can burn the bark even on strong and old trees.

On a note!

You can whitewash not only the trunk and bases of the branches, but also the entire tree. In the fight for the harvest, all means are good - or they are limited to the trunk and branches on the south side.

In the north and in damp climates, especially much attention is paid to treating trunks from lichens and moisture-loving moss. In addition to traditional vitriol and HOM, decoctions, tinctures, and more exotic ways to eradicate infection from the bark are used.

Proper whitewashing is not difficult. The procedure will not cause any harm to the garden, and the benefits from it are noticeable: a layer of paint will protect the trees from frost, sun and pests. Such prevention will allow the garden to remain lush and fruitful for many years.

Is it necessary to bleach cherries? Autumn care and preparation for winter

You need to know how to care for cherry seedlings and mature trees with the arrival of autumn. During this period, mineral and organic fertilizers are introduced into the tree trunk circle. The procedure is performed as follows:

• digging around the tree is carried out to a depth of 10 cm. This depth is chosen if the cherry is young. If the plant is already bearing fruit, then the digging depth is 15–20 cm;
• After digging, fertilizing is applied to the ground in the appropriate dosage.

Fertilizing is carried out during the period when the leaves turn yellow. It is better to do it a few days after watering or rain. Along with fertilizing in the fall, carry out preventive pruning of trees, and also treat them against insects and pathogenic microflora. Pre-winter water-recharging irrigation is also carried out.

To protect the seedling from rodents at the dacha, spread bait with poison around the area in October. In addition, it is necessary to whiten the trunks of young trees. Many novice gardeners do not know whether it is necessary to bleach cherry trees after they begin to bear fruit. Carry out this procedure not only for young trees, but also for mature trees. Such actions will protect the trunk from pests that overwinter in the bark.

In November, the garden should be cleared of fallen leaves and the tree trunk should be mulched with peat. At this time, young trees are tied with spruce branches. Without such preparation for winter, they may freeze and die.

It is worth noting that seedlings can be planted in garden soil in the fall. If the procedure is performed correctly, then the young tree will quickly take root in its new location.