How to properly whitewash trees with lime with copper sulfate?
Any experienced summer resident knows that fruit or ornamental trees need additional protection of the bark from cold weather, burns and pests. Whitewashing trees lime with copper sulfate is the most important procedure, which is easy to carry out yourself. The main task is to correctly select the proportions of chemicals that will have a beneficial effect on the tree.
Benefits of whitewashing trees with lime with copper sulfate
Often, inexperienced gardeners have the wrong opinion that the whitewashing of trees is carried out for an aesthetic purpose. Indeed, neatly planted trees with white trunks look much more beautiful, but lime and copper sulfate for whitewashing trees protects the bark from at least three unfavorable factors:
- Burns. In winter, the sun's rays are reflected in the snowdrifts, which puts the bark of trees at risk of being burned.
- Temperature changes. In the off-season, the air temperature at night and during the day is very different, which can cause cracks on the bark.
- Pests. Insects and their larvae are easy to spot in the bark after winter, and their entry is prevented by the application of a chemical composition.
Flaking of the bark is a common occurrence after chemical whitewashing. To avoid colonization of parasites, it is important to treat such areas with iron vitriol or cover with clay.
Solution preparation
Recipe 1
For 10 liters of water, 2 kg of lime and 250 g of copper sulfate are taken. Additional components will be 1 kg of clay and 0.5 kg of cow dung. The components are connected in any order and mixed until smooth.
Recipe 2
Dissolve 2.5 kg of lime and 0.5 kg of copper sulfate in 8 liters of water. Add 200 g of wood glue to the resulting mass. For greater effectiveness, any pest control agent can be added to the solution.
Surely everyone knows how to dilute copper sulfate to whitewash trees correctly: the blue powder is stirred in water until it is completely dissolved. Lime should be slaked in advance and added in dissolved form. Ready-made slaked lime is also sold in the store, however, it does not have the best reputation. When preparing the solution at home, use protective gloves and goggles to prevent the chemical from getting into the eyes and on the skin of the hands. The quenching process is carried out a few hours before the planned whitewashing of trees with lime with copper sulfate.
For 1 kg of powder or lump lime, water is taken in the amount of 2 liters. Lime should be gradually added to the water, stirring with a wooden stick until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Strain the mixture before combining with copper sulfate.
Painting works
Trees are whitewashed 2-3 times a year under favorable weather conditions. Autumn whitewashing is carried out in November, when the downpours will pass and the temperature will turn below zero. Only lime can be used as the main component for preparing the mixture in the fall.Whitewashing trees with lime with copper sulfate in the spring should be carried out before the appearance of insects. Copper sulfate has a disinfecting property and neutralizes the activity of pests, which, with the arrival of spring, move to trees.
The whitewashing of young trees planted in the ground recently should be postponed to the next season. An alternative way of treating the bark can be spraying with a 3% Bordeaux mixture, which has a more gentle effect.
Whitewashing with copper sulfate requires preliminary preparation of trees. The whole procedure is carried out in five stages:
- Cover the trunk circles with plastic wrap. The solution should only be on the trunk, not past!
- Remove old bark, moss and lichen from the trunk. Cleaning is done with a construction trowel and a wire brush.
- Disinfect the bark with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate solution (3%) by spraying.
- Seal large wounds in the bark using a garden varnish or a clay miter.
- Apply the solution with a paint brush in two layers. The size of the brush is selected depending on the diameter of the trunk. For large trees, the forks should be carefully greased. You can use a spray gun, but for it the mixture costs will be higher.
The process will be crowned with success and the result will remain long-lasting if you know exactly how much copper sulfate to add to the whitewash. Its excess will provide a burn to the bark of trees, so there should be much less lime.
Cooking Bordeaux mixture
Bordeaux mixture is a solution of copper sulfate in milk of lime (slaked lime with water). The finished substance has a lower concentration, in contrast to the mixture for whitewashing. Spray application relieves trees and plants from fungus and bacterial diseases. The mixture is prepared according to the following recipe:
- Copper sulfate - 300 g.
- Lime - 450 g.
- Water - 10 liters.
The main condition that must be observed when preparing a solution is the observance of proportions and consistency, otherwise the mixture will turn out to be too concentrated or of low quality. To dilute each chemical, the same amount of water is required - 5 liters each. Copper sulfate, then lime is diluted in water in different containers. The first solution is poured into the second and stirred with a wooden spoon. Bordeaux mixture is used in the first few hours after preparation. Storage in iron containers is unacceptable.
In the Bordeaux mixture, a solution of copper sulfate is poured into the milk of lime. You cannot change the sequence!