Opinions on painting trunks

Beabchasingizz said:
I've painted my avocado trees pretty religiously, they burn easily. I've also painted my stone fruit and citrus tree. I did paint my first 2 fig trees because I didn't have many. Now with so many trees, I'm wondering if some trees really need it. I think figs may fall into the category that doesn't need it.

I currently use the home depot behrs i300 indoor flat paint. I dilute it thin enough to easily paint on the tree. It needs to be thin enough so the tree can breath.

If I knew about this product. I would have bought it rather than home depot paint. I think it's safer as it doesn't have any non safe additives.

Arizona's Best White Vinyl Latex Paint 1 Gallon Tree Trunk Coating​

www.walmart.com

Arizona's Best White Vinyl Latex Paint 1 Gallon Tree Trunk Coating AZP30012 - Walmart.com

Buy Arizona's Best White Vinyl Latex Paint 1 Gallon Tree Trunk Coating AZP30012 at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com

I think IV organics is too expensive for what it is.
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That's a pretty reasonable price!
 
Appreciate all the info. As my trees get bigger I probably won't paint them but I have the strongest sun here and while they are babies I want to protect them until the get established and enough branching with leaves to protect themselves. I'm so excited I have a lot going on ground this year!
 
superdave336 said:
I’m not sure I still haven’t finished the can I have. It’s around $40 and you can find online at Amazon or website.
ivorganic.com

Products

IV Organic
ivorganic.com
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@superdave336
@Poplee

A cheaper source - only $29 including shipping is:
This is where my friend buys from.


This was a brutally hard winter, with record breaking cold and snow, so I have seen a ton of posts of fig trunks being eaten off (killing the trees), so I just bought some of this to put in my trees this spring since the animal will be breeding and hungry. My friend says it keeps the animals from eating his trees, because of the peppermint and other oils, which animals don’t like.




www.ebay.com

IV Organic 3-in-1 Plant Guard, 1 Pint (WHITE) | eBay

(For use in organic production. pruned branches & foliar feeding) through coated surfaces. THIRD DEFENSE: Apply IV Organic ® 3-in-1 Plant Guard to provide a shield that repels most rodents that may gnaw on the tree’s bark.
www.ebay.com
 
I figured that there wasn't anything to this tree trunk painting trick. Then my biggest pawpaw tree got a big split in the trunk and one of my $80 cultivars was infested with Ambrosia Beetles. Now I paint my trees religiously.
 
rNexus said:
You can mix a product called bug juice in the paint. Will kill borers and others. I have persimmon borers here. I have to paint my trunks.
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Is this the stuff?

Bug Juice For 1 Gallon of Stain | www.twpstain.com

This container is added to 1 Gallon of Deck Stain Bug-Juice is a remarkable insecticide paint additive. It can be added to deck stains. Once applied to the surface and let dry, bugs that crawl on or land on the treated surface will die (within 3 – 5 hours). Can be applied on exterior wood
www.twpstain.com
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Ghostfig said:
Is this the stuff?

Bug Juice For 1 Gallon of Stain | www.twpstain.com

This container is added to 1 Gallon of Deck Stain Bug-Juice is a remarkable insecticide paint additive. It can be added to deck stains. Once applied to the surface and let dry, bugs that crawl on or land on the treated surface will die (within 3 – 5 hours). Can be applied on exterior wood
www.twpstain.com
View attachment 19382
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This is a very interesting application of this product. It is a very powerful and effective pesticide, and, @rNexus, that is genius that you added it to the trunk paint! (To anyone worried, it does not harm bees in this application).

I looked into its active ingredient, Deltamethrin, and it actually looks like it is better used as an additive for trunk paint than its original intended use of an additive for deck stain (which I would NOT recommend using it for, especially if you have children, older folks, cats, or dogs who bare feet would have frequent contact with it)

It is not an insect repellent, it is an insect killer, so I think adding it to the IV Organic 3 in 1 plant guard, which provides sun scald protection and repels insect and pest/vermib (rats, mice, rabbits, etc.) would make a complete product!

I am especially interested in its use before putting fig trees into winter storage, since I heard from several people that the IV Organics product helped repel the mice that ate the their untreated trees. So if the same product mix can help sunscald, repel AND kill pests during the growing season (especially ambrosia beetles and yelllow jackets), and also help repel vermin that kill the trees in winter storage by chewing the bark, I’m all in!
 
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I don’t paint and have never found it necessary. Fig trees are meant to grow in sunny areas, so they do quite well. It’s unnecessary marketing IMO.

That said, I have gotten sun scald or sunburn on a few trees, we’re talking maybe 4-6 out of a couple hundred. And usually it happens on the ones where the trunk is trying to grow more horizontal than upright. The sun hits constantly on that horizontal area. And then it seems affected when the weather is more up and down, with cold weather and then hot weather. Watering unpredictability also can affect it.

I have not lost any trees from it, though it does cause bark damage that the tree later needs to repair. I now try to be more diligent about correcting the growth pattern so that it is more upright. Also, as always, nutrients affect susceptibility as well. Having calcium and potassium in balance is important for this.

Young trees in the first year should always be shaded if in a very sunny climate though. I used shade cloth during heat waves or very hot summers when I couldn’t put them in a partly sunny spot.
 
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