It is harmful to whitewash trees! Why then are they whitewashed? The real reason is not insect repellent at all!

Have you ever wondered why, in all our cities, utilities are painted at least once a year #trees on the streets? If not on all streets, so on the central ones for sure. And if the mayor of the city is not a careless official, then they paint twice a year - in spring and autumn. Do they have nothing to do?

I was very interested in this question, and I tried to collect information on this topic.

Myths about whitewashing trees

As long as I live in the world, trees have always been painted - both during my youth and during my childhood. At school, we children were told that it is good for trees. Trees suffer from insects, from diseases, from direct rays of the sun, from temperature changes, from rodents... and the slaked lime applied to the bark protects from all this.

Besides, trees are whitewashed for beauty. It's such a cheap but win-win urban design option. The white color of the trunks along the sidewalks is in harmony with the white color of the curbs.

And then, there was something to do for the people at the annual April communist subbotniks.

Know yourself how to paint - it's easy, and the work is always visible. You can report back to your boss.

Refutation of myths

Immediately, however, the question arises - if this is so, and whitewashing is so important for trees, then how can they exist in nature without it? Chemists say that slaked lime is an alkali, and it has a bad effect on the bark of trees. It dries it out and can lead to flaking.

By the way, glue is added to the whitewash, and it clogs the pores of the bark. Because of which the bark simply does not breathe. Yes and whitewashing does not work on insects, they crawl beautifully up to the green leaves.

As for the aesthetics of whitewashing, slaked lime is very easily washed off with water. A few good rains and nothing is left of her.

"Inconvenient" facts

Except for Russia, trees are not whitewashed anywhere else - not in Europe, not in America, not in Asia. And if trees need to be protected from harmful insects, they simply do pest control with colorless chemical solutions.

In some former republics #USSR whitewashing of trees was even banned at the legislative level. And the point is not that they are fighting the legacy of the communist past this way. In these countries, this is indeed recognized as a harmful exercise.

What is the real reason for whitewashing trees?

I like the wording: “Truth is real truth. But simply the truth is what we believe to be the truth. " So, I realized that we will never know the truth on this issue. But my elderly neighbor, who worked in Zelentrest during the Soviet era, told me the truth.

They began to whitewash trees during the Great Patriotic War. The trees were whitewashed along the roads so that cars did not turn on their headlights at night and did not reveal themselves. After the war, this tradition was continued, summing up a scientific basis for it about protection and benefits. Therefore, something like that.

Do you whitewash trees in your garden or near your house? Share why you whitewash - for beauty, against insects or as a tribute to traditions?

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