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PAINTING TREES
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I seem to keep seeing trees that have their trunks painted white. Why is this done and is this something that I should be doing to my own trees? – Stan T. from Pauls Valley |
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Ahhh… the mystery of the painted trunks. I’ve done some research into this practice myself and found a few different reasons for painting the lower 4 or 5 feet of a tree trunk white. Any of the following could provide an explanation, but to know for sure, you will have to ask the tree’s owner.
An insect repellent is one of the most common explanations for painting trees. The University of Missouri says that “painting tree trunks with whitewash or white water-based latex paint may help repel the adult beetles (shothole borer), especially on young trees.” More common than not however, the painting is seen on very large mature trees rather than the young ones that would see a real benefit.
Reflection of the sun during cold winter months is the second explanation that I uncovered. Reflecting the warmth from a young tree’s thin bark can help to prevent sunscald, which commonly causes vertical splits in a tree’s trunk. It is now more common to wrap the trunk rather than paint it, and then remove the wrap during summer months.
The third and final reason I was able to find described painting the trunks for safety reasons. The white paint serves as a reflective object at nighttime to help traffic avoid crashing into the tree.
I would recommend that it is not necessary, nor is there any real benefit to painting a mature tree trunk with white paint. |
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