I've had a sun damage on a few of my fig trees and one of my pomegranate tree. One of the figs in particular concerns me because the damage is at the base and I was planning on stool layering the tree.

There has been some discussion about painting the tree. I think most members grow as a shrub rather than a tree (the leaves help shade the trunk). I have not painted the trunks of my trees. The general thought is using latex paint diluted in half with water. Another benefit of whitewashing, especially after damage, is prevention of fig canker.

~james

The two that I have problems with are more shrub-like, or multi-trunked. During the intense heat of the summer everything is well shaded by the leaves and because that is when I would have expected sun damage I never thought to look for the damage. I just happened to notice it a few days ago while piling leaves around the trees after the leaves were gone. We have rain today with more for tonight, but when it dries out I plan to paint them and maybe my other fruit trees... need to check on them yet.

glenn: I'm inclined to agree that the damage was caused during dormancy--THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR AND HOT SUN WILL CAUSE BARK DAMAGE TO TREES, specifically those with thin bark, like a Fig.

And although one wouldn't think that the sun would be intense in January and February (anywhere in the U.S.), I've heard that the transition from hot to cold (day to night) is also a factor, in that it causes the bark to shrink and expand (beyond its capacity), thus causing it to crack (same as on a cold day when the bark on the sunny side of the Fig tree is expanding and on the shady (cold) side of the tree it's contracting (shrinking), which causes it to crack.

Even though this is completely different, nevertheless, somewhat of an example. I have, or I should say "had", a 1/2" thick piece of glass that sat atop an antique brass table, indoors, for many years. On a warm afternoon last week, I took it outside and hosed it clean, and dried it off while it was propped next to the house. Next morning while I was outside, I heard an explosion from the area where the glass was, and upon checking, found that the glass had done a "mosaic" and shattered into 10,000 pieces, each no bigger than 1/2" in diamedter (and many smaller pieces). I had to take a vacuum cleaner out, and vacuum the dirt and grass, because the super-sharp shards were everywhere in the vicinity.

The only conclusion I could reach: It got very cold overnight and was also cold the next morning, but quite sunny; my most educated guess was that the hot sun on the cold glass caused it to shatter. I've had the same thing happen with windows in automobiles in my life, including the windshield. Very cold weather, very warm sun--and always in Winter.

I believe the principle is the same as with bark cracking on a Fig tree--the surface wants to contract from the cold and expand from the heat (and in the case of glass, it "explodes"--with Fig bark, it merely cracks).

Regarding the "whitewash", I'd try latex paint on just one Fig tree, if that's what you intend to use. I've known latex paint to kill fig trees (though I don't know how much it was diluted). Reading the ingredients on a latex paint can will tell you why the paint is caustic to SOME trees. Forty years ago, latex paint was fairly innocuous, but over the years they've found reason to add many chemicals that you've never heard of and many more that you can't pronounce.

True whitewash, that used to be used by nurseries (and homeowners) is basically a mix of lime and water, with a few other rather inert ingredients thrown in for durability, and won't bother anything that can tolerate hydrated lime (I believe that's the lime they use).

Do a google search for "whitewash, how to make", to be positvely sure you get the correct lime, and to determine if the other ingredients that many people add--there are hundreds of recipes for whitewash--such as sand, salt, etc., are suitable for you.

P.S. Years ago I had a house-painting business, and where ever I washed brushes and roller (covers) that were used in latex paint, the grass and vegetation was killed all around the area--even though I always hosed down the area with clear water, to disperse any paint; so be careful of where you wash up afterwards. (And that was latex paint thinned many times with water.)

Thanks for the tips Mojo. I found several recipes for whitewash and also found many recommendations to use diluted latex paint instead.
I painted our house this past summer using white acrylic latex and it seemed to me that the grass was improved in the area where I cleaned my tools, so your experience surprises me.
As I've used my paint on the house, I'll probably try to go with the whitewash just to be safe.

Mix in a large bucket, a five gallon paint bucket is ideal:

* 3 large coffee cans of hydrated lime (about 12 cups)
* 1 pound or 1 small coffee can of salt (about 4 cups)
* 2 gallons of water

When you mix this together, mix a little lime/salt, then a little water, then a little lime, etc. It you just dump it all together it's like stirring boat anchor. You should let the mixture sit over night, but we usually just use it right away and have had no problems.

The white wash should be fairly watery, remember it's a wash, not a paint. Give it a stir once and a while as you use it.
Adding a tablespoon of powdered alum per gallon of whitewash will supposedly will improve it's "sticking" characteristics, i.e., makes it more resistant to rubbing off.
To reduce the frequency of re-whitewashing add hide glue flakes. Dissolve about 1/2 a pound of glue flakes in enough boiling water to dissolve thoroughly and add it the recipe (with alum added).

Here is a link that might be useful: Whitewash recipe

Glenn,

If you are worried about the content of latex paints as marylandmojo suggested, you might want to look into this paint. It is not listed in the Frazee website, but you might be able to call the company to get more information.

http://frazee.com/

For those of you with ant problems, paint/whitewash is not only good way to see ants traveling up and down your trunk, but, I have read, it can be used as a base for Tanglefoot.

~james

Here is a link that might be useful: tree trunk paint

The suggestion James makes about contacting the paint company--or using a latex paint specifically designed for trees--makes the most sense, for anyone using store-bought paint as opposed to whitewash.

My painting business was in the San Fernando Valley in southern California, and after the earthquake (centered in the town of San Fernando) in 1971, through 1975, we painted thousands of houses in the L.A. area. I also had to go back and reseed areas of about a hundred, or so, lawns, where workmen washed up their brushes at the end of the day, and the latex paint killed peoples' grass and/or vegetation. (I've killed a bit of grass, myself, with latex paint in my time.)

I used paint from two companies almost exclusively: A quality paint from Sinclair Paints, located on Van Nuys Blvd. (at Vanowen), in Van Nuys, and a cheaper paint (used for fences, sheds, barns, etc., from Standard Brands, on Sepulveda Blvd., in Sepulveda (or thereabouts).

One of those two was a real vegetation killer, no matter how much it was diluted with water. I not only replaced grass, I replaced bushes and shrubs (and two Fig trees), where workmen threw the paint/water mix to dispose of it, and the vegetation died. We certainly didn't do this maliciously--the fact that latex paint is diluted and cleans up with water led us all to believe that if you diluted it with enough water, it would be harmless. I've even told people who complained that workmen were washing brushes on their lawns, that it was diluted and would not harm their lawns--that's what I thought. Many reseedings later, I formed the opinion that there are substances in some latex paints caustic to vegetation.

Glenn, the fact that you painted your house with latex paint that made the grass grow, is a shocker to me. Do you remember the brand name?

I'm not sure you could get a paint company to commit to their paint being harmless to vegetation, but it's worth a try (probably will be leery of a lawsuit). I'm of the opinion that using latex paint specifically for vegetation is the way to go, as in the link James provided.

glenn, I wish that one or the other of us could post pictures of the problem you describe - I live in northern Virginia, and have the same thing on several of my trees. The splitting of the bark is linear, and it tends to curl inwards along the split. It does not seem to occur according to compass direction. The ants crawl in and out, and the limbs seem to weaken and bend downward at the point of splitting. When I described mine on the forum I was led to believe that it was indeed frost damage. Oddly enough it seemed to happen just last Winter, which was one of the mildest we have had in many years. Perhaps the wood did not harden off properly, because of the fluctuating weather, and was thus susceptible to the few days when we did have freezing temps. I really doubt it is sun damage or else it would have occured with more frequency. If whitewashing or latex painting solves the problem, please inform the forum.....Elder

One last thought: Fig leaves that have fallen (preeding dormancy) and are allowed to remain rotting in crotches of branches, etc., hold water for peiods of time--allowing bark cracking and other damage (bark blackening) to occur underneath them during freezing weather.

It's a good idea to remove all rotten leaves from Fig tree crotches, and not allow them to remain there over Winter to hold moisture which turns to ice during freezing weather and has a tendency to screw up the bark beneath them.

James,
Thanks for the link to the tree paint. I'll see if I can find it locally and if not try to order a gallon.

Mojo,
The paint was "Ace Royal Shield semigloss" sold by Ace hardware stores. I washed the house down using TSP/bleach and I believe this helped the grass generally around the house, but the cleanup area seemed to benefit rather than be harmed.
And no rotten leaves in the fig bushes. The wind takes care of that around here.

Elder,
I can take pictures but have no means of posting them at this time. There is another forum that I read which allows jpg posts... I may post there and then post a link to the pictures in this forum. Can't do it today though, and it may not work anyhow.

glenn: In the absence of rotting leaves remaining in crotches and causing bark problems as they decompose, freeze, etc., I'll always believe your bark-cracking problem--and most any other--is due to the heat-cold factor in Winter, as I originally posted.

Bright sun on the south side of the tree causes the bark to expand, and cold air on the north side causes bark to contract. The splitting occurs between the two interactions.

Hello all, I planted two fig trees 20 years ago and 2 more 7 years ago and they are all in N Fla. I have never seen a split in the bark of a fig tree. So please dont blame your split on the south, maybe it is what some think about the sun heating one side of the tree and not the other, I can see that happening in a cold area but not the south.

dangsr: What zone are you in? Glenn is in zone 8, which means his coldest Winter temperatures are 10 to 20 degrees F (-12 to -23 degrees C), which is plenty cold enough to cause freezing/thawing, contraction/expansion of fig bark, (and cold on one side of the tree, warm on the other).

The fact that you're in a warmer zone (and climate) and not afffected by freezing/thawing means that you SHOULDN'T have such problems.

I agree with you that it's not a Southern thing--it's a zonal thing-and anyone in zone 8 or below might experience the problem.

No doubt the cement in highways has little problem with cracking and breaking from freezing/thawing in your area, either.

marylandmojo, I am just 5 miles out from Tallahassee the capital, and have seen 3 different zones listed at different places so I dont know the true zone, but we do get cool weather like 20 this a.m. We can get that cool and 6 hrs. later be 50 and a bright sun shining on my fig tree. Ill be watching from now on to see what happens.

Elder,

I finally got a few pictures and posted them elsewhere due to the limitations on size/number per post here. Hopefully the link will survive.

Glenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Sun Scald damage

Glenn, Yes, your damage looks very much like mine, and based on my description I was advised that it was freeze damage. I hope Herman gets a look at your pix, he seems to have a good handle on what this is.....Elder

I also believe it's freeze damage resulting from the sun warming the bark during warm afternoons.

I have not subscribed to the site where the pics were posted so I could not see them. I have a picture of my tree. Is this similar to the scar on your tree?

My tree was bare-rooted and repotted at the beginning of 2006. This scar was not there, however, it did appear before mid-October 2006. It was not due to a chill/heat cycle, however it did lose many of it's leaves in Sept. Also this is a multi-trunked tree. The other trunk, which was shaded a bit more by another tree was undamaged, which is why I thought it to be sun scald.

~james

I think it looks to be similar James.
You should be able to view any posts on the other site without signing up. If I recall correctly one must be a member there to post, but not to read or view.

Glenn