With some plants, the soil around the trunk is limed due to certain requirements for the soil composition and the nutrient balance. With the apple tree, on the other hand, you do not lime the soil, but apply a protective lime coat to the trunk.

Prepare for winter in the fall

If you have harvested the hopefully rich and sweet apples from your apple tree in autumn, you should use suitable care measures to ensure the yield and tree health for the following year. For decades, this has also included a lime coat, with which the apple trees not only make a visually well-groomed impression, but are also protected from various harmful influences. The lime coat should be reapplied every year in order to permanently maintain the vitality of the apple tree, even in difficult locations.

Preparations for painting the tree

Lime paint for fruit trees can often be purchased ready-mixed from specialist garden shops. You can also quickly and easily create a suitable coat of paint yourself by mixing ordinary lime from the hardware store with a little water until creamy. First remove loose pieces of bark with a wire brush or a special tree scraper before applying the paint in several layers with a brush. Be careful not to injure young shoots. Otherwise you would open the door to dangerous fungal diseases and other pathogens. At the time of the lime painting, you should also check the tree crown for moldy fruit mummies from the previous year and remove them.

Positive effects from a coat of lime

The most important effect of painting the trunk with white lime is protection against severe temperature fluctuations in winter. The bark of young trees, in particular, heats up considerably due to the sunlight and can tear if there is insufficient voltage dissipation. By reflecting the sunlight, this effect is greatly reduced with a coat of lime. Other positive effects of liming apple trees include:

  • a visually ordered impression
  • Protection against various pests
  • killing pest larvae that have already settled on the trunk
  • an even fertilization of the soil by slowly washing away the lime when it rains

tips and tricks

If you want to be on the safe side against crawling pests, you can also attach a green glue ring around the tree trunk in addition to the white lime paint.

Category:

Trees