Just like humans, trees and plants can get a sunburn during the summer time too! For this reason, it is important to protect your landscaping trees in order to promote healthiness and longevity. Sunscald is a damaging effect on flora that occurs as a result of massive over-exposure to sun or strong sunlight. It generally affects the more delicate and vulnerable areas of a plant or tree, like fruit or leaves.
The biggest concern in terms of sunscald is disease. When a plant or tree is badly sun-scalded, it can allow diseases to enter. This can lead to a very sick or dead tree. Young or newly-planted trees are more at risk to sunscald. Continue reading to learn how trees and plants get sunburnt, and how to protect them from this type of natural hazard.
Signs of Sunscald on Trees
When humans get a sunburn, their outer layer of skin is affected or damaged; and this damage is usually visible by peeling, discoloration, swelling, and more, depending on the severity of the burn. This is exactly the same for trees and plants. The outer layer of bark on a tree, or the outer layer of skin on a plant, are the areas most damaged by sunscald. Other areas of flora can be damaged by sunscald as well, including leaves, foliage, stems, tree trunks, and more.
Signs of Sunscald Affects:
• Rotted Fruit
• Unattractive or Droopy Flowers
• Lesions
• Peeling Bark
• Discoloration
• Sickly-Looking Plants
• Damaged Spots
• White, Brown, or Withered Leaves
• Diminished Crops
• And More
The best way to treat tree sunscald is to do your best to prevent it from happening in the first place. Routine tree care and preventative maintenance are crucial for protecting beloved and valuable landscaping trees from all natural wear, tear, and danger. Once a tree or plant is sunburnt, there is no way to fix it. Preventative maintenance and care involves covering growing fruits and crops with cheesecloth during the afternoon, using proper fertilizers, proper watering, accurate pruning and branch trimming, wrapping young tree trunks with tree wrap strips in the fall, and placing plants and trees in the proper areas of a landscape. Consult a professional tree contractor for advice when needed.