Lemon Tree Problem
eliza...@earthlink.net
Have a Lemon tree which produces well. Is fed and watered carefully
and looks in good condition. Suddenly I find long open scars about 4 -
6" long and 1/2" wide on the trunk and several branches. All running
up and down. Just looks like the bark has split open. No sign of
desease or pests. Any ideas. Please.
Liz
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Ken
On Tue, 18 Jun 1996 05:17:50 GMT, eliza...@earthlink.net wrote:
>Have a Lemon tree which produces well. Is fed and watered carefully
>and looks in good condition. Suddenly I find long open scars about 4 -
>6" long and 1/2" wide on the trunk and several branches. All running
>up and down. Just looks like the bark has split open. No sign of
>desease or pests. Any ideas. Please.
>Liz
>
I recall reading about the possibility of sun damage to citrus trucks.
Is it really sunny and hot in your area? If so you may need to paint
the trucks white.
Good Luck,
Ken
Rastapoodle
kl...@ix.netcom.com (Ken) wrote:
>On Tue, 18 Jun 1996 05:17:50 GMT, eliza...@earthlink.net wrote:
>>Have a Lemon tree which produces well. Is fed and watered carefully
>>and looks in good condition. Suddenly I find long open scars about 4 -
>>6" long and 1/2" wide on the trunk and several branches. All running
>>up and down. Just looks like the bark has split open. No sign of
>>desease or pests. Any ideas. Please.
>>Liz
kl...@ix.netcom.com (Ken) wrote:
>I recall reading about the possibility of sun damage to citrus trucks.
>Is it really sunny and hot in your area? If so you may need to paint
>the trucks white.
>Good Luck,
>Ken
Please, please, *please*, do stop and think before you quote "I recall reading about the
possibility...". Your lack of knowledge or expertise can cause a lot of damage, at least
to this one tree. And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
horticultural standard.
It sounds like her tree is suffering from foot rot, commonly caused by overwatering, or
mulch up against the trunk, allowing fungus to take hold. Pull the mulch back, cut back
on watering, and go to the local garden center for a good fungicide. In the meantime,
also spray with one Tablespoon of baking soda per gallon of water.
Anya
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Rast...@winnet.net
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Matthew Shugart
Someone said:
And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
> horticultural standard.
>
Many fruit growers and mwholesale or mail-order nurseries (like Dave
Wilson and, I think, Raintree) and fruit books (like HP's How to Grow
Citrus, or some such title) do in fact recommend white-washing trunks of
young trees to protect them from sunburn. Once they are old enough to
have a canopy to shade the trunk, it is no longer necessary, unless you
prune the lower branches off for some reason.
A white trunk can also margianlly increase the chill experienced by
deciduous fruit trees, by reflecting some of the sun back rather than
letting it be absorbed. Or, at least some sources say so (e.g. the book
Designing and maitaining Your Edible Landscape.)
So, there seem to be many horticultural sources that disagree with this
post that advises against painting trunks white. In fact, Bay Laurel
Nursery's gurantee on its fruit trees is voided if you haven't painted the
tree's bark!
Matthew Shugart
Someone said:
And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
> horticultural standard.
>
Many fruit growers and mwholesale or mail-order nurseries (like Raintree)
Janet & John Wintermute
mshu...@ucsd.edu (Matthew Shugart) wrote:
>Someone said:
Painting the trunks of trees with whitewash (lime in water) is very
common in the Deep South. It looks hideous to these originally
Midwestern eyes, but I suspect it's pretty important or everybody down
in Lousiana wouldn't be doing it. Pine trees get this treatment, too,
so it's just just deciduous or fruiting specimens that the M.O.
applies to.
Jack Eden, garden columnist for the Washington Post, always writes in
January columns about the importance of whitewashing the trunks of
trees that are exposed to the rays of the sun at sunset in February.
(That's when the sun's rays are strongest!) In late winter, ambient
temperatures drive the temp in the cambium layer (live tissue just
below the bark) way down. But for a few minutes right at sunset, when
the rays strike the trunks directly, the semifrozen outer edge of the
cambium layer reliquifies. Then after sunset, the cambium refreezes
and expands. This inner freeze-thaw action bursts the bark in long
vertical fissures. Then the tree dies.
If your trees are sheltered from this blast of February sunset light,
say by the footprint of your house or other vegetation, it is not
necessary to whitewash. In general, the trees most affected,
according to Eden, are young ones. A tree freeze-death on our
cul-de-sac occurred under exactly these conditions, destroying the
perfect circle of symmetry we had going with maple 'October Glory.'
The builder substituted another hybrid when he couldn't replace the
original tree with 'OG.' Boo....
--Janet Wintermute
eliza...@earthlink.net
Have a Lemon tree which produces well. Is fed and watered carefully
and looks in good condition. Suddenly I find long open scars about 4 -
6" long and 1/2" wide on the trunk and several branches. All running
up and down. Just looks like the bark has split open. No sign of
desease or pests. Any ideas. Please.
Liz
Ken
On Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:42:14 -0800, mshu...@ucsd.edu (Matthew
Shugart) wrote:
>Someone said:
>
>And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
>> horticultural standard.
>>
[snip]
>So, there seem to be many horticultural sources that disagree with this
>post that advises against painting trunks white. In fact, Bay Laurel
>Nursery's gurantee on its fruit trees is voided if you haven't painted the
>tree's bark!
I made the suggestion to paint a citrus tree trunk that caused the
comment that you quoted. Thanks for the supporting info. I'm also
posting more info in the "Lemon Tree Problem" thread.
Ken
jos...@cimatron.co.il
> >Someone said:
> >And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
> >> horticultural standard.
(snip)
I think it's not just plain white paint, but some sort of lime-based
stuff that repels nibbling animals.
Here in Israel I once helped to plant a new field of peaches, and we
painted the young whips with limewash to keep deer from stripping the
bark.
Joshua
Ken
(Rastapoodle) wrote:
>Please, please, *please*, do stop and think before you quote "I recall reading about the
>possibility...". Your lack of knowledge or expertise can cause a lot of damage, at least
>to this one tree. And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
>horticultural standard.
>
[snip]
>Anya
Thanks for chewing my head off. I hope the following references will
show you that painting trunks white is an acceptable and common
practice.
Ken
From Rodale's Pest & Disease Problem Solver:
Citrus bark is thin and very easily sunburned. To protect your trees,
paint the bark with equal parts water and white latex paint or wrap
them with commercial tree wrap.
From Sunset How to Grow Fruits, Nuts & Berries:
Not a disease, but a problem, is sunburn. New trees are susceptible.
So is wood newly exposed by pruning on older trees. Nurseries sell
commercial wrappers for the trunks of young trees. Whitewash or
coldwater wall paint works well on trees of all ages. (Tan and pale
brown paints work as well as white.)
From Sunset Wester Garden Book:
Sunburn
Damage to leaves or bark from sunlight, sunburn may result from high
temperatures, exposure of previously shaded bark to the sun, or
improper hardening off of transplants. Symptoms are most common on
plant parts facing south, southwest, or west. They include cracked or
split bark, wilting, bleached-out or yellowing foliage, or dead
portions of leaves.
[snip]
To protect newly planted trees, paint the exposed trunk with a white
latex paint or wrap it with a commercial tree wrap sold in nurseries.
Tree branches and limbs newly exposed to sunlight following heavy
pruning should also be painted with white latex paint.
From Ortho All About Citrus and Subtropical Fruits:
The bark of citrus trees is very susceptible to sunburn, especially
after severe pruning. Always paint exposed branches and trunks with
diluted (50-50) water-based white paint or commercially available
whitewash after heavy pruning.
From Microsoft Complete Gardening CD:
On Sunburn:
The bark on exposed branches, limbs, and trunks splits or cracks, and
portions of it may die.
[snip]
If heavy pruning exposes previously shaded bark, paint the bark with
diluted latex paint. To protect the trunks of newly planted trees,
wrap them with tree wrap or paint the trunk white with diluted latex
paint.
counides,m
>Ken wrote:
>> >Someone said:
>> >And painting the trunks white is really unacceptable from any
>> >> horticultural standard.
>
>
>I think it's not just plain white paint, but some sort of lime-based
>stuff that repels nibbling animals.
>
>Here in Israel I once helped to plant a new field of peaches, and we
>painted the young whips with limewash to keep deer from stripping the
>bark.
>
>Joshua
Around here it is diluted latex paint. It prevents "Southwest Injury".
This is a problem in early spring when the sun is low. The unpainted trunk
may heat up in the day and refreeze at night sometimes causing the tree to
split. The white trunk reflects the light and prevents heat build up.
Naomi Counides
Associated Beefalo of Idaho