Winterizing a newly planted tree or sapling involves more than just throwing a layer of bark or mulch around the roots. Protecting the bark is also an important step in protecting a sapling during the winter months.
The bark of a tree plays an important role in both the overall health of a tree and its growth. It shields the inside of the tree from bad weather, insects, and fire, and prevents the loss of water through evaporation. The innermost layer of bark also transports the food gathered by the tree’s leaves to the rest of the tree. And, beneath that layer is the cambium layer which generates the new layer of sapwood growth every year. If the tree bark is damaged, the tree is weakened and will become susceptible to both disease and infestation by insects.
While wailing away on the tree bark with a weed whacker or knife is one way of damaging bark, temperature extremes and foraging animals can also damage bark. The fluctuations from warm days to freezing nighttime temperatures can cause “frost crack” which is when the bark and the underlying cambium layers crack. Intense sunlight during cold winter days can scald the bark, and even hungry animals who are short on food may nibble at the bark.
There are all sorts of methods from preventing winter bark damage. Depending on where the tree is located, if the tree is susceptible to animal damage, and how much you can afford to spend, one of these methods may work for you.
1. Painting the bark white: White latex paint, available in garden centers as ‘˜”tree paint” is a low cost way of preventing winter sun scald and frost crack. My father-in-law loved this method of preventing winter bark damage on our fruit trees because it’s cheap and it works.. The paint will not deter animals from chomping on the bark however, which means that the trunk will also need to be wrapped in chicken wire or hardware cloth.
2. Wrapping the trunk in tree fabric or burlap: If you don’t like the looks of white paint on your new trees, tree fabric or burlap is a great alternative. Wrapping the tree in burlap will protect the trunk from winter weather extremes.
3. Installing a tree guard: Garden centers sell a wide assortment of commercial tree guards which are both convenient and reusable. These tree guards come in either paper, solid plastic, or plastic mesh and are either a fixed size or expandable. Commercial tree guards are an excellent solution if the objective is to prevent both winter damage and damage from animals
4. The no-cost pop bottle solution: For a tree guard that costs absolutely nothing, you can dig into your recycling bin for plastic 2L soda pop bottles that can be recycled into a nifty tree collar. To make a tree collar from plastic pop bottles, simply chop the top and bottom off three or four pop bottles and cut a seam up one of the sides. Spray the inside with some leftover spray paint (light colors are best), and let dry. Stack the pop bottles around the tree trunk, overlapping each bottle by a few inches until reaching a total height of 30 inches.
Resources:
TexasParks&Wildlife;
www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/trgrds.pdf
