Whitewashing of fruit trees in autumn, the composition of the protective solution

Garden trees and plants are exposed to various diseases and harmful insects. FROM pests constantly need to fightotherwise the garden will perish over time. One of the effective methods of protection is the whitewashing of trees in autumn, the composition of the solution for different types of vegetation may vary.

The need for whitewashing trees

Bark protects plants from many negative factors. But over time, it begins to lose its protective functions, as it becomes harder, exfoliates and cracks. In order for the orchard to please its fruits for many years, the state of the tree bark must be constantly monitored. For this, summer residents and gardeners organize whitewashing of vegetation.

Completed whitewashing of trees for the winter provides plants protection against the following negative factors:

• sharp temperature jumps that contribute to cracking of the bark;
• frost
• sunburn during the winter thaw and early spring;
• various diseases;
• pests in the bark.

Whitewashing of garden vegetation can be carried out with the onset of spring until the end of the autumn period. Each gardener independently chooses a specific time garden processing. Experts recommend a similar perform the procedure several times a year:

• in the second half of the autumn period - the main whitewash;
• at the beginning of the spring period - re-treatment;
• in the middle of summer - additional painting (if necessary).

Of the shortcomings of such autumn manipulations You can highlight the following points:

• a protective calcareous layer applied to the bark quite early, will wash away atmospheric precipitation;
• the wrong proportion of lime mortar (high concentration in the lime mixture) is one of the causes of damage to the bark of young seedlings.

Plant Processing Solutions

In order for the performed whitewashing of trees to really perform protective functions, you need to choose the right components for the solution. The market today offers a fairly wide range of ready-made mixtures for processing plants of various types.

The main component of any mixture intended for painting the bark of trees is lime and clay. Ready-made store solutions are capable of passing air. This is their main advantage, since the plant stem will be able to breathe after treatment. But there is a drawback: purchased mixtures do not differ by a long period of action.

If you decide to prepare a protective solution yourself and the question is how to whiten trees in the garden in the fall, then it is recommended to use the following components:

1. Slaked lime. For the manufacture of a solution for whitewashing the bark of vegetation, this component is key. Lime gives the mixture a white color, which protects the plant stem from the penetration of sunlight. Trees need such protection when there is no foliage on them. This is a period of late autumn and early spring.
2. a piece of chalk. If there is no lime, it can be replaced with chalk, it will also provide the solution with a white color. But it will be washed off faster by precipitation, therefore it is necessary to update whitewash more often. Chalk is a natural component that is safer. Mixtures based on it are recommended to be used for the treatment of seedlings.
3. Clay. This natural element will help to connect together all the components included in the solution. Thanks to clay, the protective mixture will not immediately drain from the bark of the tree after application. This component reliably smears all damage and cracks in the plant bark, through which various harmful insects penetrate.
4. Glue. This component can be used to bond all components of the solution, as well as to extend the period of the protective action of whitewashing. It is recommended to use carpentry, wallpaper, casein adhesive mixtures. It is also possible to use PVA glue, but the formed protective film on the bark of the vegetation will not allow air to pass through to enrich the tree trunk with oxygen and moisture.
5. Soap. As a binder, it is quite possible to use laundry soap, which perfectly replaces clay and adhesive mixtures. This element is safer for vegetation, but has a shorter period of action.
6. Fungicide. It is recommended to include fungicide in the composition of the lime solution to prevent various plant diseases. Copper sulfate is the most affordable and effective means of disinfecting the bark of vegetation. And you can also use Bordeaux liquid and iron sulfate.
7. Manure. According to many recipes, the composition of the mixture for whitewashing includes manure, which not only provides viscosity to the solution, but also serves as a fertilizer for plants and a disinfectant.
8. Carbolic acid. Trees need to be painted not only to protect from the rays of the sun, but also to protect the bark from rodents. Carboxylic acid has a strong odor that repels animals.

Rules of the procedure

There is a certain technology for whitewashing trees in the autumn. Plants must first be prepared for protective treatment against plant diseases and harmful insects.

Preliminary preparation

In wet weather, it is necessary to clean the trunks of fruit trees (apple trees, pears, cherries, etc.), as well as the lower sections of skeletal branches. At this stage, exfoliated sections of the bark of vegetation, moss, lichens are removed. All work must be done with protective gloves.

It is forbidden to use metal or plastic brushes, scrapers, hard scourers to clean the garden, which can cause damage to healthy areas of the bark. You can use only a knife or a wooden peg, previously made of wood. All taken sick sections of the bark from a tree trunk must be burned. After stripping the vegetation, it is disinfected. This event is best carried out at a time when precipitation is not expected for several days.

Technology

After preliminary preparation of the garden vegetation, you can proceed with the implementation of the main activities. In order to whiten trees qualitatively and not harm them, it is recommended that all procedures be performed slowly and accurately. It is necessary to carefully lubricate each area of ​​the tree bark so that the protective solution gets into each crack and microcrack.

You need to paint the trunk from the bottom up. It is necessary to ensure that large drops of the mixture do not remain on the crust, since after drying they will fall away. It is necessary to process not only the trunk of the plant, but also its skeletal branches 30 cm in height. It is not recommended to make the whitewash solution very thick, since thick layers of whitewash after drying immediately begin to fall off and have to be whitened again.

In the autumn, the gardener has to carry out a whole complex of various events on his own plot, which includes whitewashing of fruit trees and other garden vegetation. If all the work is done in a timely and high-quality manner, the vegetation will be reliably protected from negative external influences, diseases, and attacks of harmful insects and rodents. Thanks to such manipulations, fruit trees will thank their owners for the next year with high productivity. And the garden will get a pretty well-groomed and elegant appearance.