Sunscald

[Mike Prager]

I planted a small bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) late last fall.
(The tree is about 3' tall and the largest stem is about as
thick as my thumb. I noticed this spring that the bark on the
lower trunk is split open facing SW. Is that sunscald? (I
took no special precautions when planting.) The bark on this
species is dark, amost black.

If so, should I take action to prevent further sun exposure?
Would it make sense to paint the lower stem with white
water-based paint? For how long will it be necessary to
maintain the paint?

Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8)

[Sed5555]

I don't think painting the tree is a very good idea. You can't reverse the
sunscald damage that has already occured, but you can prevent it from recurring
in the future. This damage often occurs on the south and west sides of young
trees that have not yet formed their protective corky bark.  Mild winter
daytime weather warms the cambium layer. The cells in the cambium then become
vulnerable to low night temperatures.
Use crepe paper or other wraps on your deciduous tree trunks about Thanksgiving
time. This protects young trees from winter sunscald.
Remove the wraps around Easter. Do not leave the wrappings on during the summer
months. Tree wrap left on during the summer months provides a great place for
insects to hide and disease to develop.
Do this for the first 2 to 3 seasons. .

sed5555