Staking & Wrapping Trunk Newsletter

Newsletter

Wrapping the Trunk

(On another subject – this tree is grossly too deep in the ground)

Those of you with young red oaks, water oaks, chinquapin oaks, Chinese pistachios or other smooth-trunked trees may have been given some very bad information – especially if you are listening to the wrong radio gardening show.

The same people that still recommend nitrogen-only and high-nitrogen-synthetic-salt fertilizers and toxic pesticides give out this terrible advice. They (there’s really only one major offender) say that wrapping new trees not only protects against freeze damage, sunscald and borers, but also protects against woodpecker damage. It’s all nonsense.

Except for trunks that have experienced severe physical damage, there is no reason to use trunk wrap materials – including plastic, foil, burlap, or paper. Not only does wrapping trunks do no good protecting trees against insect attack or disease, it does just the opposite. Wrapping provides an excellent habitat for pathogens and pests. It’s a silly waste of money, so don’t do it and don’t let your landscape company do it. I don’t recommend staking trees either. Here’s a new piece I have written about tree staking and tree wrapping that goes into greater detail on the subjects. Article