Why do nurserys paint the bottoms of baby trees white?

Answer 1

MASTER GARDENER TO THE RESCUE

For the same reason you put sunscreen on when going to the beach after a long winter indoors. This practice was referred to as 'whitewashing'.It is done to prevent winter sunscald on the trunks of fruit trees.

In the winter, the sun's rays strike the trunk at a different angle than during the summer months. Winter sunscald can occur on trees when the sun's rays heat up one side of the tree trunk in the afternoon to above the current air temperature and then the air temperature drops dramaticly after sunset. This can cause the trunk to split or crack.
It usually happens when we have a very cold sunny day. To prevent this, farmers would whitewash their trees with exterior latex paint. A mix of 50% water to 50% latex paint.
Usually the trunk was painted from the ground up to the first set of branches.

Answer 2

Trees are painted white around the bottom of their trunks to reflect sunlight. Sunlight actually causes bark on some trees to split and open. The white paint helps protect the tree from uneven heating and splitting! The white bark also can act as a wound dressing so trees can heal faster although this has been debated. Black wound dressing actually hinders trees from healing! Some people find the white painted bark to be ornamental but it is mostly utilitarian. I hope this helps!

Answer 3

Not a recommended protective measure any longer. Used as protection from sun & animals. Haven't seen that paint treatment done in years. Most come with a paper or plastic guard here which should be removed after about a year. The paint would be hard to remove fully and can create underlying mold in the bark - killing the tree.

Answer 4

Whitewashed with latex paint keeps young tree saplings from getting "sunburned" through their trunk which would kill the roots.

Answer 5

that paint resists bark boring insects, its special stuff, not just house paint.

Answer 6

i think, well someone told me, that its so bugs and other animals don't "attack" it....or if you are mowing or something so you will not run over it.