Meticulous Mummifying of Trees

These are fairly mature Freeman-type maple trees. I bet they have bark fissures under there.

Things that make a horticulturist go 'hmmmmm' are many and varied. This, however, was a new one for me. Out on a lunch date with a good friend, we turned down this lovely suburban lane. I understand, even recommend, wrapping thin barked trees for winter protection. I like the brown paper tree wrap, but you can go this fancy with the burlap. Why wrap trees in winter?

1). Protect thin bark from sun scald which may cause cracks in the bark to form. On bright, sunny winter days, bark can warm up enough to stimulate cellular activity. Once the sun goes down and temperatures plummet, those cells freeze and die. You'll often see vertical cracks or fissures on the south or west sides of young maple trees, particularly the Freeman types. Tree wrap helps keep the temperatures at the bark from fluctuating as much.

2). Protect tree bark from animal grazing from rabbits or voles. Hungry critters will dine on thin tree bark when they run out of other options. They can be particularly fond of fruit trees or fruit bearing trees like apples, crabapples, and serviceberries. I fence my tender trees, shrubs, and roses in winter to keep the bunnies from grazing. Rabbits have preferences, so don't be afraid to ask when you purchase woody plants if they are favored by the bunnies. Tree wrap acts as a barrier between rodent and bark, which is why you want to go all the way down to the soil level.

In these photos, however, are a bunch of mature trees with nice thick insulating bark. They aren't species that rabbits favor and besides, they've got mature corky bark, not thin, delicate, tasty bark. Someone has done a very elegant job of wrapping these trees, but it is utterly unnecessary. Plus, they are located in an old suburb and have large, mature trees around them, minimizing the chances of sun scald on those maples. As we continued driving down this particular street, trees were wrapped like this over and over again with newly planted trees ignored. So bizarre. Such a waste of time and money. At least they weren't volcano mulched.

This is an ash tree. The tree wrap doesn't go down far enough and is utterly pointless on this type of tree. I hope they are treating it for emerald ash borer.

(Thanks, Jen, for putting up with my swearing and taking the photos! Check out her new business - dayhouse coworking.)