Those white bands on tree trunks are a careful act of protection, not a random aesthetic choice.

In winter, sunlight can heat one side of a tree’s bark,

then freezing night temperatures slam it back down.

This sudden expansion and contraction can split the bark open,

a condition called sunscald, leaving the tree vulnerable to disease,

decay, and long-term weakness.

Painting trunks white with diluted water-based latex paint helps reflect the sun’s rays,

keeping temperatures more stable and reducing this stress.

Applied once a year, usually with a brush or sprayer,

the thin white layer becomes a kind of seasonal armor.

It won’t save a tree from every threat, but it quietly prevents a common,

painful injury most of us never see.

So when you pass a row of trees wearing white in the cold months,

you’re looking at deliberate care: a small human intervention that

lets them face another winter and leaf out strong in spring.