Whitewashed trees in our country have long become a symbol of the universally held spring subbotnik. By tradition, after all the joint harvesting work, buckets of lime are taken out. The snow-white boles of trees, and at the same time the pillars that fell into the field of view - as a sign: the mission of the labor landing party has been completed. Not surprisingly, many consider tree whitewashing a purely decorative act and treat it accordingly. But in fact, it is extremely important in the life of a tree.

Should trees be bleached?

To understand the meaning of whitewashing, you need to say a few words about tree bark which, in fact, is whitened. Bark is to a tree like skin is to a person: protecting internal organs, she is the first to meet all adverse conditions external environment. And there are many of them: sharp fluctuations in temperature, biting wind, sunshine and severe frosts, teeth of rodents, the action of pests, and people themselves with their habit of making a fire under a tree and carving their immortal name or the message “Vasya + Katya = love” on the bark. The bark gets sunburned and frostbite, coarsens and cracks, hurts and flakes off. Who among us has not seen the difference between smooth skin young seedling and the rough cracked bark of the old one? Everyone also knows what a skin injury leads to - to a disease: infections and pests penetrate the body, weaken it, lead to premature withering and death.

That's why tree bark must be protected. This is what whitewashing is for, it is:

• protects tree bark from burns- winter and early spring, when there is simply no foliage that serves as protection from the sun for natural reasons;
• protects from temperature fluctuations which means that it prevents cracking of the bark (the appearance of frost cracks);
• helps protect from pests, the larvae of which settle in the bark.

So it is a mistake to treat the whitewashing of trees as a purely decorative event. Many years of experience of gardeners unequivocally testifies: this is an effective protective measure for the bark.

It is necessary to bleach both mature trees and young ones. Many gardeners are convinced that young trees cannot be whitewashed, because whitewashing can burn the delicate bark. In addition, by compressing the trunk, it prevents its growth (thickening). Is it so?

The problem, as always, has two sides. Without a doubt, a high concentration of lime will damage the young bark, but this can be avoided. Halve the lime content, use water-based or acrylic paint, or, in the end, a silver biomask. But if you do not whitewash at all, then sunburn and frost cracks will harm the young tree immeasurably more than possible harm from lime.

For example, take a look at the seedlings that were grown in the nursery. Most often they live there in cramped conditions and do not receive light hardening. And when we plant such a tree in our garden, it falls into open space and easily gets a sunburn of the bark. That's why whitewashing is simply necessary for young trees, especially when planting in autumn.

When to bleach trees

• the main whitewash is considered autumn, it is held in October-November;
• spring- repeated, renewing; it is held in late February-early March;
• the third would be appropriate in the middle of summer.

The most effective whitewashing is carried out in the fall, in October-November. Made during the spring garden work, as a rule, is already "late".

The most dangerous thing for a tree is precisely sunny days of February and frosty March. During the day, an unbleached dark trunk under the February sun heats up to + 9 ... + 11ºС - this temperature is enough for the tree to wake up and sap flow to begin. And night frosts down to -10ºС simply freeze the “tightened” juice. As a result, tissue breaks occur - frost cracks, which look like long cracks in the bark.

White color repels the sun's rays and does not allow the barrel to heat up to the awakening temperature. Moreover, the whitewashed tree will “wake up” a little later in the spring, which, quite possibly, will save it from spring frosts- it will begin to bloom after them.

If autumn whitewashing failed, in February, you need to catch up as soon as the temperature allows. You should not wait for the traditional April "Lenin Subbotnik" - then this procedure will really become exclusively decorative. And if the autumn whitewashing went according to plan, the spring renewal can be done in February and March, and even in the first days of April - when the time will turn out for this.

The third whitewash is not necessary, especially if the trees are whitewashed with resistant compounds that hold up well for up to a year. But it is desirable if the whitewash layer is washed off by rain or peeled off.

How to whitewash trees

To the most common question - how high to whiten — experienced gardeners answer:

• fully the whole trunk(this is the trunk from the root neck to the first skeletal branch of the lower tier)
• a plus lower skeletal branches 1/3 of their length (many even 1/2 of the length of the branches are whitened).

As they say, to protect is to protect! By by and large, it would be nice to clothe the whole tree in such a light-repellent shell, but this is a time-consuming and expensive business. Although such examples are not uncommon,

Trees are whitewashed with a wide variety of mixtures: lime mortar, water-based and water-dispersion paint. The main thing is that the surface of the trunk is white, so that the whitewash composition allows the bark to "breathe" and does not wash off as long as possible. To do this, substances are added to the main mixture that ensure the solution sticks to the trunk (these can be clay, milk, laundry or green soap, casein glue or PVA glue).

In the next video, an experienced gardener Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich shares his recipe for snow-white and persistent whitewash, which perfectly protects the tree bark for a whole year.

It remains to add that you need to whitewash the trees in dry weather so that the whitewash dries well and is fixed in a new place. And be sure to do the work carefully, without omissions.

And this is to make you smile. It is clear that from sunburn such a coloring "mix" is not particularly protective ... But it looks positive)

It's autumn now, and just the time has come for the traditional doubt: "To whiten or not to whiten - that is the question." And this is the rare case when the question has an unambiguous answer: be sure to whiten! And right soon. Then on a wonderful sunny February day, you mentally praise yourself for the fact that your pets do not have to suffer from long painful frost holes on a frosty night.

When to bleach trees? Definitely in autumn in October-November, in slightly cloudy, but dry weather! You can update the whitewash in February-March with the same composition. Whitewashing will protect trees from sunburn, which occur not only in spring, but even in winter. Moreover, it is necessary to whitewash the trees at a positive temperature (+ 5 ° C), which in early spring impossible.

About whitewashing trees

Young trees do not have to be completely whitewashed until they branch strongly! Since the branches of the crown do not fall much under the direct sun, and there is a shadow from each other.

• How to whitewash trees faster? Tie several flat brushes into one large one, and whiten faster, and absorption is better. Do not spare the solution. Sprinkle the rest on trunk circle. Remember that trees will not acquire a bright white color immediately after whitewashing, only after a few hours.
• How to whitewash trees? We can immediately recommend acrylic paint, as it is the most resistant to rain, i.е. will not blur, and it will retain its reflective properties until spring in good condition. Of course, you can also choose clay and lime mortars known to everyone, but in this case, re-treatment cannot be avoided. It is better to whitewash young trees with just such solutions so that the bark breathes.

For whitewashing trees, you can combine substances such as lime or chalk with PVA, milk, clay or even laundry soap and add manure or copper sulfate as a disinfectant.

Examples of whitewash solution for lime trees

• 1 kg of manure, 1 kg of lime, 200 gr blue vitriol and all this pour 8 liters of water. Mix thoroughly and let it brew for 2-3 hours to completely dissolve the components. The whitewashed part of the trees will be slightly bluish due to the addition of vitriol.
• 1 kg of oily clay, 2 kg of slaked lime, 1 shovel of cow dung, 250 g of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water. Mix everything and let it brew for several hours.
• 2 kg of slaked lime, 400 g of copper sulfate (dissolve in hot water), 50-100 grams of casein glue per 10 liters of water. This recipe will have great strength and durability.

Note to gardeners:

• pay attention to the consistency of whitewash, when applied, there should be no lumps and it should not flow over the tree (consistency of thick sour cream). The thickness of the whitewash is 2-3 mm, which means that, most likely, whitewash from slaked lime will have to be applied to the trees several times;
• the color in the dried state should be white, not gray, only White color repels the sun's rays;
• adhesive components must be added so that the rain cannot wash off the whitewash from the trees;
• young trees need to be whitewashed with a lower concentration of lime, so for them, dilute lime in 20 liters of water;
• if the whitewash falls off the bark, then the tree will have to be whitewashed.

How to prepare trees for autumn whitewashing

Whitewashing trees is a must. However, in order for whitewashing to bring the desired effect, the trees need to be prepared.

If the trees are whitewashed in dry weather, then they begin to prepare the trees for whitewashing in wet weather. It is important!

Place a tarp or a strong film under the tree where the “bad” bark will fall. You need to clean the trunk and skeletal branches of dead bark, lichens, etc. from adult trees. It is better to do this manually, with gloves, without the use of metal scrapers and brushes, so as not to accidentally injure healthy wood. Clean indentations and dimples with a wooden knife or a sharp stick. Now you need to burn everything scraped up and it’s better to do it not on the site, since there are pests and pathogens in the peeled bark.

After such manual cleaning in wet weather, it is necessary to disinfect the bark, but already in stable dry weather. Make a solution: in a bucket of water 300-500 grams of copper sulphate with Bordeaux mixture or HOM preparation. Spray the trees with a fine mist method so that the droplets create a mist and settle on the bark, rather than run off in a stream. There is another treatment option - this is a solution of iron sulphate with a copper-containing preparation (600-800 g of iron sulphate per 10 liters of water). However, it is not recommended to use this solution annually, as copper and iron in high concentrations become poisonous and the plants begin to become weak!

It is best to use an ash-soap solution:

• For 1 liter of hot water, 5 g of laundry soap and 200-300 g of ash.
• Soak a rag in this solution and wash the trees. The ash will both disinfect and fertilize.
• OR 2-3 kg of sifted ash per 10 liters of water, stir for 15-20 minutes, put on fire and bring to a boil.
• Dilute the cooled and settled liquid with water 1:1 and spray the trees or 1:2 and wash the trees.

The next step in preparing trees for whitewashing is wound repair. Here you can use any putty, bought or made by yourself.

For example:

• Garden var - 200 gr beeswax and 100 g of rosin separately melt over low heat. Connect, add 100 g of unsalted fat and wait until the fat melts. Next, pour the mixture into cold water, get what you get and make a lump. It is very convenient to cover with garden pitch, the main thing is to warm it up before use, then it will become a plastic mass.
• Clay talker is an excellent putty for sealing wounds on trees. They take 200 grams of clay, 100 grams of cow dung and a bit of finely chopped straw, diluted in water to the consistency of thick sour cream.

The final stage of working with trees in the fall is directly whitewashing the trees.

Autumn is the time when it would be blasphemy to ignore this process.

When to whitewash the trees in the garden and why? The white color repels the sun's rays, which protects the tree from sunburn. This means that it is necessary to whitewash by March 1, and not by May 1. A common mistake is that by Easter or by May 1, trees begin to whitewash everywhere. Even stumps are whitened if they are along some route, and at the same time the “legs” of the pillars. It must be understood that this is done for beauty - it gives the impression of well-groomedness and order, care for the local vegetation. However, this impression is very misleading.

Annual whitewashing of trees in the spring is a necessary thing to support orchard in healthy and nice view! Mandatory whitewashing in the fall does not cancel the same thing in spring garden. Why bleach again? After all, everything was whitened well in the fall - you say.

During autumn and winter, the whitewash is partially washed off, somewhere open parts appear on tree trunks. And the bright spring sun bakes stronger and stronger. It burns the bark of trees, and frosts often hit at night. And all these blows are taken by the bare trunks. And if they have pruning wounds, then it is even more difficult to cope with the surprises of spring weather. That's why it's so important

Whitewashing garden trees in spring

How to do it right and with minimal cost and maximum benefit.

Preparation for whitewashing and timing

Before whitewashing, trees should be well cleaned of old bark, moss, wounds should be cleaned and covered with garden pitch. All this is done at a positive temperature (minimum + 5C), so that the composition of the whitewash does not freeze, but sticks well. In the southern regions, this may be February. And to the north and in the Urals, these dates are shifted to March-April in the spring.

The main condition for spring whitewashing is to do everything before bud break. Later, there is no longer much point in bringing beauty to the garden. It will be only decorative whitewashing.

Whitewash composition

First, you need to decide: how will you whitewash the trees. The compositions are different and their purpose is different. Now you need to protect the gardens from the bright sun and night frosts. Therefore, simply whitewashing with lime will not help much.. It will wash off after a few wet snowfalls or rains. Glue, clay or manure must be added to lime for better adhesion. What do you have available.

For the best protective properties whitewash add vitriol to it. Often various pests hibernate under the bark and in its cracks, which “thaw” in the spring and begin to wake up. Whitewashing with iron vitriol protects the garden from pests that like to spend the winter in cracks in the bark, and “wake up” in the spring.

Secondly, the age of the trees matters. Old ones withstand more additives, and young seedlings are whitened carefully, only with chalk or lime, with natural additives, since they have a very delicate skin and cannot be clogged with glue. In this case, they will not be able to breathe and will slow down in growth.

There is a ready-made whitewash if you have no time to look for and breed all the ingredients yourself. Usually additives are already included there: both adhesive and protective, while it “breathes”. Ready garden whitewash is sold in a diluted or dry form. If you bought dry, then it must be diluted with water according to the instructions.

The use of acrylic paint for whitewashing is undesirable. She certainly looks beautiful and does not wash off for a long time. The trunks are bright, white, elegant, but do not breathe at all.

Whitewash Recipes

A mixture of lime, clay, glue, clay, vitriol

This mixture adheres well, does not wash off, is environmentally friendly, and is suitable for mature trees.

It is necessary to dilute 50g of wallpaper paste in half a bucket of water. When it disperses well, add two kg of slaked lime, 400 g of vitriol, diluted in very hot water. Add a kilogram of clay and manure. You can replace wallpaper glue with 100 grams of wood glue. This composition must be well stirred until a homogeneous mass. The density of the whitewash should resemble sour cream.

Whitewashing from lime, clay, vitriol

This composition has been used for many years. And he does not lose his popularity among gardeners. The ingredients and preparation are very simple.

It is necessary to extinguish 2.5 kg of lime with water. To do this, pour 6 liters of water into a bucket, then pour lime. You need to cover the bucket with a lid and let it “simmer”. After 15-20 minutes, the lime will stop boiling and splashing. Then add there 300 g of copper sulfate, diluted in hot water. For density and better adhesion, add a couple of kilograms of clay. Mix the solution well. To make it thick and without lumps. It is better to cover the trees in two layers.

Composition for young trees

Only the simplest ingredients are used here that do not clog pores on young seedlings. In addition, they are simple and environmentally friendly.

You need to mix 2 kg of slaked lime, a kilogram of manure and 1.5 kg of oily clay (there is little sand in it). Then add water to the consistency of thick sour cream.

Clay and manure have disinfectant and fixative properties. This composition is suitable for whitewashing all trees in the garden, not just young ones.

Apply with a wide brush. Start at the top, moving down. White thick skeletal branches. In young trees, only trunks up to the first fork of branches are covered with lime composition.

When to whitewash trees in spring - video

Protect your trees, help them now in a difficult time spring time. Let the whitewashing of trees in spring and autumn become a regular thing for you in the garden.

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What is whitewash for?

whiten apple trees and other fruit trees with the beginning or end of the agrotechnical season, it has become a tradition for many gardeners. But at the same time, no less number of summer residents are not sure of the need for such an event.

In fact, whitewashing trees has two functions:

• decorative,
• practical.

As for the first point, one cannot but agree that whitewashed trees look elegant and even festive. But the practical role of whitewashing is to protect the garden from rodents, pests and microbes, as well as adverse environmental impact:

1. Whitewash has about disinfecting properties, which do not allow bacteria, fungi and insects to settle in the cracks of the bark, damaged by winds, precipitation and temperature changes. It disinfects and heals the wounds of the trunks.
2. White color protects the barrel from sunburn, as it reflects the sun's rays. This is very important at a time when the trees have not yet been covered with leaves, but the sun is already quite strong.
3. Whitewash mix with strong aromatic components prevents damage to the bark by rodents that attack the garden in spring.
4. In addition, whitewashing carried out by winter prevents icing of trunks, which is very dangerous for heat-loving trees.

Time of processing

Apple trees, pears and others garden trees usually bleached twice a year:

• in autumn, when the trees have already shed their leaves;
• in the spring when the buds appear.

Autumn whitewash - this is the main job held at the end of the season. It saves fruit trees from damage during winter temperature changes and icing, bright spring sun. In addition, whitewashing in autumn kills mites, leafworms, codling moth, aphids and other pests that have settled under the bark for wintering, reduces the number of harmful microorganisms and bacteria that can damage trees. Whitewashing apple trees in the fall, as well as other fruit-bearing plantings, prevents spring damage to the trunks when rodents wake up, and insects and other lovers come to the surface tree bark and sap. As a result, a healthy tree grows safely and brings a harvest.

When to whitewash trees in the fall, you should look at the weather. Best time for this - the end of October-beginning of November (depending on natural area): the leaves have already fallen, the rains have passed, the snow has not yet fallen, and you can choose a suitable day- cloudy (but dry, not rainy), with a temperature of 2-5 ⁰С (that is, above zero temperature).

Whitewashing garden trees in the fall requires compliance with the painting conditions, otherwise all your work may go down the drain:

• too early whitewashing can be washed away by ongoing rains;
• with sudden frosts, you may not have time to whitewash the trees.

It is also necessary to monitor the concentration of lime in the solution so as not to damage the bark.

Spring whitewashing is carried out in the period from the end of February to the beginning of April, before the foliage appeared and the overwintered pests came out. In fact, in the spring, the protective layer applied in the fall is updated. In the summer it is also desirable to update the painting. In spring and summer, branches are not cut, bark is not disinfected, and other preparatory activities, which are required when whitewashing trees in the fall. The composition for painting in any season can be used the same.

Composition for whitewashing

There are a lot of compositions for whitewashing fruit-bearing trees, each gardener chooses his own due to personal preferences. The best remedy considered special water-based paint with bactericidal properties. She is reliably protects tree bark without obstructing her breathing. However, this method is not cheap, especially if you need to whiten a large number of trunks. The fact is that the trees are whitened with a depression in the ground of several centimeters (about 3-4) and up to the skeletal branches. Another disadvantage of such paint is its thick consistency, because of this it is difficult to apply the paint, a lot of time and effort is spent on whitewashing.

But there are solutions that you can make yourself. They've stood the test of time and in general are almost as good as industrially produced paint.

• lime,
• wood glue (or PVA),
• blue vitriol,
• water.

Lime gives the solution the desired white color, the glue fixes the composition, preventing it from washing off the trunk ahead of time, vitriol has disinfecting properties. For 2.5 kg of lime, 10 liters of water and 0.5 kg of vitriol are needed. The components are mixed and infused for several hours until completely dissolved.

There are other compositions which usually include, except for lime, chalk, clay, manure (mullein), milk. However, experienced gardeners do not recommend clay and mullein, as solutions based on them are washed off very quickly, not living until spring.

Tree preparation

Before whitewashing fruit trees in the autumn it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work:

After that, you can start directly to the whitewashing of trees. The composition is applied with a roller, sprayer or brush. It is necessary to whiten with a deepening into the ground and up to a height of at least 1.6–1.7 m from the soil.

Many are afraid to whiten seedlings and fresh plantings . They are partly right, because their thin bark is very vulnerable. But frosts, overheating and pests are just as dangerous for her, so it’s still worth whitening such plantings. You need to find a middle ground - for example, reduce the amount of lime in the solution or resort to special garden paint for trees. For plantings older than five years, the solution should be applied in two layers - from the ground to the skeletal branches.

Even if you doubt the need to whitewash your garden plantings Twice a year still worth doing it. Do not neglect the protection of plants before winter and with the beginning of gardening. In addition, the autumn whitewashing of garden trees is good opportunity inspect your garden before the end of the season, put it in order and make sure that in next year your apple trees, plums, pears and other fruit-bearing trees will delight you with their beauty and harvest.

For many years now spring whitewash Tree gardening has become a traditional April event for many gardeners – beautifully painted trees herald the end of winter. Although it's not just about beauty.

The spring sun can bring many dangers to garden trees and shrubs. The sun's rays are already warm enough and can awaken the trees ahead of time. Blooming buds can die if there are unexpected night frosts.

Another reason is that the rays of the sun can warm the bark of a tree only with sunny side, and from the shadow side, the temperature of the trunk will remain minus. Such temperature changes can cause bark burns and, as a result, cracking and dying.

Spring whitewashing of trees in the garden can not only protect the tree from premature awakening and damage caused by temperature changes, but also from pests awakening in the spring.

How to whitewash trees in spring

It is important to whitewash while the soil is still cold and pests have not woken up, otherwise an unprotected plant will become easy prey for them.

Examine the trunk of the tree and remove moss, lichen and damaged bark with a brush or scraper. If cracks appear on the trunk during the winter, they need to be repaired with garden pitch. A smooth bark is much easier to whiten than a rough one, and it will take much less mortar along a smooth trunk.

Whitewashing on an unprepared trunk can harm the tree. The solution applied to the cracked bark will cause it to peel off quickly, which in turn will make the trunk vulnerable to impact. sun rays and rare frosts.

Then you need to prepare the composition - this is done with slaked lime, although now there are many products based on copper sulfate and a special adhesive composition.

We whiten the trees in the garden

Most popular coloring agent for processing the garden, every summer resident prepares regularly. It is necessary to take a standard package of slaked lime and add copper sulfate to it. Adding copper sulfate to lime will help to more effectively disinfect the tree from pests and various diseases. The mortar should be thick enough to adhere well to the wood. To do this, add 200 g of carpentry, silicate or PVA glue to the composition. Instead of glue, you can add laundry soap.

In addition to the standard option with lime, many gardeners advise other options that are less washed away by rain:

• Water dispersion acrylic paint- diluted with water.

• A solution made from fresh slaked lime prepared with skimmed cow's milk.

• The traditional composition with the addition of clay - protects the tree from temperature extremes.

Whitewashing can be done with a roller or sprayer.

There are many opinions about the height of the whitewash, and they are all different. But the basic rule is that the height of the whitewash should be regulated by the degree of freezing of the earth. Sometimes it is enough to paint over only the trunk, and in some cases the branches are also painted over.

Whitewash contraindications

• It is not recommended to carry out whitewashing on young and fragile trees. The composition clogs the pores of the tree, which reduces the exchange of oxygen and the tree is sick.

• Do not whitewash during or before the rain - waste your time.

• It is advisable not to cover the tree very high with a solution, it gets less oxygen, die ladybugs that protect the plant from pests.

Whitewashing fruit trees in spring video.

The annual spring whitewashing of trees will not only make your garden more elegant, it will not keep you waiting for positive results: the trees will hurt less, they will give more high yield, the quality of the fruits themselves will be higher and the garden will last longer, to the delight of its owners.

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