Lime paint for trees & fruit trees

Young trees are often painted white in winter. The so-called. Lime paint not only helps to prevent frost damage, but also protects against being bitten by game.

You can protect your fruit trees in winter with a lime coating. In this article we will explain to you what you have to pay attention to, which means you should use and how you can even produce lime coatings yourself.

Lime paint: many positive effects

Lime paint against mold and co.

Lime is a natural product. Its naturally bright white color is often used as a pigment in paints. It is suitable for painting fruit trees because its bright white optimally reflects the sun's rays.

In addition, due to its high pH value, lime has a strongly alkaline and thus antibacterial effect. A lime coating can not only protect against frost damage, but also has a preventive effect against infections that can penetrate through cracks in the bark. Some preparations available on the market even contain small amounts of fungicides that protect our fruit trees from infection with fungal diseases.

Furthermore, lime can have a positive influence on soil conditions to a limited extent. Due to rain and dew, the lime paint is gradually rinsed off and fed to the ground through the seeping water. In the case of too acidic soils, the washed-off lime can provide a higher pH value and thus better growth conditions, at least in the environment close to the roots.

Lime paint as frost protection

In winter, the temperatures are often icy despite the bright sunshine. This interaction can lead to stress cracks forming in the bark of our fruit trees. This happens when the bark on the sun-facing side warms up and expands, while the bark in the shade remains rigid. Young trees in particular are affected by this problem because their bark is still very thin and prone to injury.

You can protect your fruit trees from frost damage by painting them with lime. The white color of the paint reflects the sun's rays and prevents the bark from heating up quickly and expanding. There are no cracks and your fruit tree is protected from drying out and the penetration of pathogens.

Furthermore, a lime coating slows down growth in the winter months due to the lower heat build-up. This can delay the budding of the flower buds from fruit trees. The risk that the vulnerable buds will be injured by a late frost and thus suffered losses in yield is therefore lower.

Lime coating against game browsing

In winter it is difficult for game to search for food. The soft bark of young trees proves again and again as a tasty change in the meager winter feeding of the animals. A lime coating makes the rind taste bitter and thus reduces the appetite of the game. Since the guide vessels are to be found in the bark on the outside of trees, the transport of water and nutrients to the leaves can be completely destroyed and prevented in the event of bite damage. Consequently, in the worst case scenario, the tree will die.

The following products have proven themselves on our trees:

• Well white paint: Lime paint for all trees and shrubs to protect against frost cracks high quality natural marine minerals.
• Lime paint: Biological and allergy-friendly sump lime with an anti-fungal effect.
• Neudorff organic tree painting: To protect your trees and bushes from frost, game bites and fungal pathogens.

Lime paint: when and how to apply?

There are a few things to consider before applying the lime paint. Young trees often still have smooth bark. Here, the lime can be applied directly without any further preparation. Older trees usually have rough and brittle bark. Before applying the lime paint, the loose parts of the bark should be removed with a spatula or a blunt blade. If the bark is covered with lichen, this can be removed with a wire brush. However, after a few weeks, lichens will be displaced by the lime paint.

A simple brush can be used to apply the lime paint. Above all, the vertical parts of the plant should be provided with a thin layer of lime paint, this is where the uneven irradiation is greatest.

In principle, the lime coating can be applied all year round. The lime coating pays off immediately after planting, because young trees in particular are susceptible to frost damage. In order for the paint to have the most effective protective effect possible in winter, the paint should be applied before the first frost. The paint is minimally worn off during the critical cold season. To prevent the paint from rinsing off immediately after application, a sunny and dry day is best to apply to the tree trunk. However, if the paint is too faded, you can of course reapply at any time.

The following things must be observed when applying the lime paint:

• Prepare older trees with brittle bark and carefully remove detachable pieces
• Lime painting can be carried out all year round
• For an effective protective effect, application in autumn before the first frosts is ideal
• Choose a dry and slightly sunny day for applying the lime paint - this is the best way for the paint to dry
• Faded lime paint can be improved at any time

Make lime paint for trees yourself

Lime coatings are now available on the market in many variants. Those who prefer to decide for themselves which paint should be given to their valuable fruit trees or Dependent on larger, cheaper quantities can be based on some tried and tested recipes To fall back on.

The best-known lime paint is milk of lime. To make it, you need water, quicklime and paste from the hardware store in a weight ratio of 8: 2: 1. The mixture should be stirred until it resembles a creamy emulsion. After stirring, you should let the lime paint swell for at least two hours to ensure that it adheres to the bark.

Note: The color of the self-made lime paint may not be as brilliant white as that of its commercial counterparts.

You can help with fertilization so that your fruit trees bloom nicely after winter and bear plenty of fruit. In our article on the Fertilizing fruit trees you will find information on when and how to proceed.