{"id":10119,"date":"2020-03-13T10:49:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T17:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=10119"},"modified":"2020-03-13T10:50:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T17:50:49","slug":"painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I planted this pluot tree for my grandma a few weeks ago and made sure to paint its trunk to protect it from the sun; I hadn\u2019t so protected a pluot tree that I planted for my mom eight years ago and look what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pluot-tree-with-sunburned-trunk-757x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10122\" width=\"362\" height=\"488\"\/><figcaption>Pluot tree with sunburned trunk.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve seen a lot of trees in other yards and school gardens lately with this problem. Check your fruit trees; I hope you don\u2019t find it, but check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Effects of sun damage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that this damage from sunburn on the trunk does not usually kill the tree, at least not immediately nor if you can protect the trunk from further damage. My mom\u2019s pluot tree in particular still grows and bears fruit although it doesn\u2019t perform as well as the trees without damage that grow next to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My theoretical explanation for this is that the trunk now has less capacity for sap flow &#8212; for water and nutrients to flow up from the roots to the leaves, and for the energy that the leaves create to flow down to the roots. It is roughly analogous to pinching off some of the blood vessels in your legs; they\u2019re still going to work but not as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another effect of sunburn on a trunk is that it is attractive to certain pests. Borer insects sometimes show up to exploit the easy entry point into the tree. (Read more about tree borers on the University of California IPM website <a href=\"http:\/\/ipm.ucanr.edu\/QT\/treeborerscard.html\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sunburn-and-oozing-on-nectarine-limb-1024x759.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10162\" width=\"487\" height=\"360\"\/><figcaption>Sunburned horizontal branch on my nectarine tree that is oozing sap. Unfortunately, I painted this limb after it had already started to get sunburned.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Which trees to paint<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I paint the trunks of almost all fruit trees that I plant nowadays. There is no downside to painting trunks, save the minimal money and effort it takes to do the painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last winter, I planted this apple and painted its trunk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/gala-apple-tree-two-years-old-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10161\" width=\"336\" height=\"447\"\/><figcaption>Buckeye Gala apple. Even painted some lower limbs that face the strong southwest sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Two winters ago, I planted this pear and painted its trunk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Fanstil-pear-tree-with-trunk-painted-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10127\" width=\"362\" height=\"482\"\/><figcaption>Fanstil pear tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Also two winters past, I planted this cherry and painted its trunk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Royal-Crimson-cherry-tree-with-trunk-painted-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10126\" width=\"380\" height=\"506\"\/><figcaption>Royal Crimson cherry tree, just starting to leaf out.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the types of trees that especially need their trunks painted: pluots, apples, pears, cherries, and plums too. What do they have in common? They are inclined to grow their branches upright, especially in their early years when they\u2019re not bearing much fruit. These vertical branches provide little shade for the young trunk whose bark is thin and susceptible to the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another type of tree that is extremely sensitive to the sun in general and therefore often needs its trunk painted is avocados. I planted this avocado the other day and will be sure to paint its trunk as soon as this week&#8217;s rains pause:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-avocado-needs-trunk-painted-660x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10159\" width=\"306\" height=\"474\"\/><figcaption>Newly planted avocado without low limbs, in need of sunscreen on trunk.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, I planted these avocados and found it unnecessary to paint their trunks because their lower limbs are shading their trunks well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/new-avocado-trees-no-need-to-paint-trunks-1024x769.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10125\" width=\"516\" height=\"387\"\/><figcaption>No need to paint the trunks of these newly planted avocados.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How to paint<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few expensive products that you can buy to paint trees, but I just use cheap white latex paint (interior or exterior, it doesn\u2019t matter) and I dilute the paint about 50 percent with water. Many other people have done this for many years in many locations. It works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/white-latex-paint-for-painting-trees-872x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10158\" width=\"360\" height=\"423\"\/><figcaption>Old can of white latex paint that I&#8217;ve been using on trees for many years.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Paint all the way down to the soil and all the way up to the lowest limbs on the south side of the trunk. It is the south-facing side of the trunk that usually gets sunburned although it can also happen to the east and west sides, depending on what is around the tree. So I always paint all sides except the north just to be safe. The sun never shines strongly from the north here in the Northern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After initially painting a tree&#8217;s trunk, usually, the tree grows and bears fruit and its branches become more horizontal under the weight of the fruit. These branches then shade its trunk such that no later paintings are required. Here is a five-year-old pluot tree in my yard whose trunk I painted at planting, and which now has weeping lower limbs that shade its trunk:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted-but-now-shaded-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10128\" width=\"519\" height=\"389\"\/><figcaption>Dapple Dandy pluot tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If, however, a fruit tree doesn&#8217;t begin to protect its trunk from the sun like this, then that remains our responsibility. Grab the paint can, and get it done well before summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A list of all my Yard Posts is <a href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/list-of-yard-posts\/\">here<\/a>.<br><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I planted this pluot tree for my grandma a few weeks ago and made sure to paint its trunk to protect it from the sun; I hadn\u2019t so protected a pluot tree that I planted for my mom eight years ago and look what happened. I\u2019ve seen a lot of trees in other yards and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fruit-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Alder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Alder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Alder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"headline\":\"Painting the trunks of fruit trees\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":801,\"commentCount\":42,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Fruit\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/\",\"name\":\"Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Painting the trunks of fruit trees\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/\",\"name\":\"Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\",\"description\":\"Southern California food gardening\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\",\"name\":\"Greg Alder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Greg Alder\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","description":"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","og_description":"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.","og_url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/","og_site_name":"Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","article_published_time":"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Alder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Alder","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg Alder","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"headline":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees","datePublished":"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/"},"wordCount":801,"commentCount":42,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","articleSection":["Fruit"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/","name":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees - Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-13T17:49:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-13T17:50:49+00:00","description":"Protect the trunks of fruit trees, especially newly planted fruit trees, from sunburn by painting them white. Not doing so can cause significant damage.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","width":1200,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/painting-the-trunks-of-fruit-trees\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Painting the trunks of fruit trees"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/","name":"Greg Alder&#039;s Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","description":"Southern California food gardening","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a","name":"Greg Alder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Greg Alder"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/gregalder.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/newly-planted-pluot-tree-with-trunk-painted.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10119"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10170,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10119\/revisions\/10170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}