Anti-transpirants – Orlando Tree Care Services
Anti-transpirants – One Orlando Tree Service Which Can Help Prevent Winter Injury
Sunny days during the winter can actually be a bad thing. If the sunlight brings the temperature of your foliage above freezing (over 32° F) while the ambient air temperature remains colder than that, conifers may sustain an injury, because the needles’ pores (stomates) open up and water is released from the foliate. As this water is lost to the atmosphere, the tree begins to feel the effects of the loss of this water, since the tree is dormant and not absorbing new water. If this happens enough times, the needles, branches, and even entire plants can die. The use of anti-transpirants can help prevent this injury from happening by preventing the stomates from allowing water to escape.
Attacks: Juniper/Arborvitae, Thuja, Taxus, Ornamental Pines, and Spruce.
Symptoms:
- The tree foliage is either dead or browning
- This condition typically occurs in the winter and spring
Addressing/Preventing:
- Protect the tree from direct sunlight
- Wrap the tree in burlap or other fabric
- Apply an anti-transpirant, liquid paraffin or a non-toxic wax-based product to prevent moisture loss
- Water trees in the fall time
- Plant cold-resistant evergreens
Preventing Winter Injury
Treatments:
- Wrap individual shrubs and small trees with burlap or other lightweight fabrics
- Apply anti-transpirants, which are effective for up to two months, depending on the amount of rain or snow. Apply your first treatment in mid to late November, the second in January (when the temperature is above freezing), and finally in early March.
- You can combine foliar anti-transpirants with animal repellents if needed.
Winter Injury vs. Winter Kill
- During Winter Injury, while the green tissues are damaged, the woody parts are alive and so can refoliate.
- If the woody areas are damaged or dead, the tree is a victim of Winter Kill, from which there is no chance of recovery.
- Anti-transpirants can’t reverse any existing Winter injury symptoms, nor can it help a tree that has suffered from winter kill. Anti-transpirants will be useful only in addressing winter injury.
An integrated approach
It’s important to carefully evaluate the health of your tree, as well as its surrounding environment, in order to know exactly what must be done in order to keep the tree at its best health.