Bearss lime

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Valencia orange

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Eureka lemon

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Moro blood orange

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Rio red grapefruit

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Oro Blanco on macro

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Key lime #2

Freshly painted trunks · More Info

Evan

Have not painted for any reason but considering painting GRAFT so I can easily identify. These days, citrus grafting is being done so expertly, it has been hard for me to recognize it, and I find myself waiting for foliage to emerge as my clue.

ive always liked the look of painted trunks, reminds me of the tropics

I also like painting my trunks so I can see when my tree has grown. It splits the paint when the trunk gets more girth so you can see it more easily.

Evan

Evan You have no choice but to paint or say bye bye to your citrus trees. Here in Cincinnati our solar index is about half yours with a 20 F lower temperature. I will still pain anyway but I doubt it is necessary here. Better safe than sorry.

6b Steve

I have not painted and have not had problems.

I haven't considered yet if I am going to paint my newer trees. My mature navel orange has a big enough canopy that the trunk doesn't get much sunlight. We do get some heat in the summer (probably 105-110 max) and have thought about it.

You only need to paint in extreme climates (e.g. Hot desert sun). I never paint my trunks. In the summer we have nearly 100% sun with temperatures in the 80s to low 100s. I have never had a single problem with sun scald.
-Brett

I was just asking the question, not stating it was needed. I paint mine for asthetics AND protection because I need to. I like the way they look in my yard when they're painted, they look "finished" is the best way to describe it.

Evan

Evan I am always amazed at how beautiful your tree's look fantastic job . Wow Evan are your tree's ever blooming out your going to have a ton of fruit . What ever do you do with all of your key limes those tree's are huge especially key lime #2 it has massive trunk. Cannot remember if I have already Evan would recommend a Pixie over a Daisy mandarin I don't mind seeds.

Brian

Hey Brian thank you. Yes you had asked me before, I suggested buying a pixie over the Daisy. I wouldn't get a Daisy because of the seed content, I do not like seeds in my citrus and I know there is a DaisySL cultivar but I don't think it's being cultivated actively by suppliers. As for the Key Limes I give most of them away, I bake a few pies with some of them, I use many of them in my cocktails or beers and a lot of them fall off the tree and go to waste unfortunately. I did not mean to plant a second key lime tree, that was an accident, I thought it was a bearss lime tree and did not know the difference when I had planted it and I am much more versed in my cultivar knowledge these days but I cannot bring myself to remove that tree.

Evan

Thankyou soooooo much my friend for the great info . Evan you made a good mistake we prefer the taste of the key lime over the bearss much better in beverages . Have a great night.

Brian

I like the look; reminds me of the groves and yards in Florida. Do the groves in Cali use it?

I am actually a bit worried, because I will grow mine on a deck near my house, and wondering if the reflective surfaces will add to the need. I guess I made it through one growing season OK, so I don't need it.

You can use watered down latex house paint, right? And it isn't at all negative?

As far as I can tell the groves in cali, at least in the Coachella valley, wrap their trees in loose paper for the first couple years to protect them from the sun until the canopy is large enough to protect itself.

Yeah indoor/outdoor latex paint mixed 50/50 with water, there is no ill effect on painting your tree trunks.

Evan

I wish I had so much sun that I had to paint my trees :( lol C'est la vie!

I'm so happy you started this thread! I've been wondering if I should paint the trunks of my Lisbon lemon and Rio Red grapefruit. I'm thinking I should paint them, yes? I live in AZ so on sunny days it gets around 8-10 hours of sun a day and gets up to 92 degrees so far.

I was thinking. If we could get tied together on our smart phone in a group we could have a great BYOB citrus tree trunk painting party.

6b Steve

Lol Steve.

Season, I would definitely paint my trunks in your climate. At least until their canopys are large enough to protect their trunks on their own like this.

Rio Red Grapefruit

Evan

Thank you Evan! Since they are pretty young I will definetly paint them soon. I'm kinda new at citrus, so is there a particular paint you use? Just normal, or will that hurt the plant?

Well you live in AZ so I'd go to HD and buy Arizonas Best tree paint. It'll be in the gardening section and comes in quarts premixed 50/50 with water so it's ready to use. That's what I use, I also use their fertilizer it's really good for our trees in the desert. Here's what it looks like.

Evan

Thank you! I will definetly check it out.

I really like the idea of wrapping in loose paper! Thank you! I never realized that was what CA groves use and I think I will try that on mine instead of painting. Thanks again!

I wonder if they have that in a matte eggshell? No, please, I'm not serious :>)

I love your trees Evan! I've not painted mine but may paint a few this year. Last year I had a bite on Alexander's trunk that would likely have been avoided if it had been painted. I wonder if the paint would be a puppy deterrent?? ;-)