Why should I wrap my trees?

Gardeners sometimes ask “Is it important to wrap our trees and if so, when should I wrap them?”

Yes, we are in a “high dessert” part of the country, making it extremely important to protect young trees from sun damage during the winter months.  Every spring, folks come in and tell me that damage has occurred to their newly planted tree.  I ask them which side of the tree trunk is damaged. If it's on the west to southwest side of the trunk, I can say without even seeing a picture of the damage that it is likely from our intense winter sun burning the trunk of the tree. 

There are other reasons why a tree may not be performing as it should. Depending on the time of year the damage occurred, there are of course, insect damage, fertilizer or chemical damage and other factors that may cause a tree to be stressed.  It may take a number of years for a tree to recover and at times, there may be no saving the tree.

So when should you wrap the tree?  We recommend doing so around the 15^th of October.  About that time, leaves will have started to fall off and the days are cooler for working in the landscape.  Start by wrapping the trunk near the base of the tree and spiraling upward, overlapping the previous wrap by about 25%.  Continue upward till you reach the first or second major limb and stop at that point.  Be certain to keep the tree wrap tight as you spiral around the tree.  To secure the tree wrap in place, we use masking tape and completely wrap the top and bottom, going around the trunk 3 or 4 times.  As a general rule, we recommend wrapping young deciduous trees each fall until the trunk has produced a corky bark or if the tree typically has smooth bark, wrap the trunk for at least the first 5 years after planting. 

Now, come spring you will want to remove the wrap.  This will allow some sun exposure which can gradually cause the bark to thicken and thus protect the tree from sun damage.  Some folks ask why wrap in the winter when it’s so hot during the summer.  First, during the winter months there are no leaves on the tree to help protect it from are extreme conditions.  Second, when it snows during the winter, the sun reflects off the snow and can cause damage to a plant. 

If you live in a part of the country as we do, you’ll often see snow skiers come back from a skiing trip with a great sunburn, caused from the sun reflecting off the snow.  Having said that, we recommend unwrapping trees around the middle of March. 

If you have a question about your garden, always feel free to give us a call.  We have been in the nursery business for nearly 50 years and can help you with your gardening questions.