Liming cherry trees includes lime fertilization on the one hand and lime painting on the other. Fertilization is used to increase the pH value of the soil and painting is used to protect the tree trunk.
Why should you lime a cherry tree?
Liming cherry trees includes lime fertilization to increase the pH of the soil and lime coating to protect the tree trunk from frost and sunburn. Painting reduces heating of the trunk, while fertilization supports the plant's nutrient needs.
lime paint
More than the crown, the trunk of a cherry tree is exposed to damage from the weather, pests or fungi, and the longer it is, the more so. The lime coating is used to protect the cherry tree from frost and sunburn. The dark cherry tree trunk heats up very much when the sun shines. Trees with long trunks in southern locations that are exposed to intense sunlight in the winter and summer months are particularly at risk.
In winter, frost damage occurs because the sap-rich bark, which has thawed during the day, freezes onto the wood of the trunk when the temperature drops at night. In summer, sunburn occurs when it is very hot. A cherry tree trunk that has been painted with white lime reflects the sun's rays and therefore does not heat up as much as a tree trunk that has not been treated.
Lime fertilization
The plants need nutrients for their growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and calcium (=lime). These are contained in various combinations in commercially available complete or mixed fertilizers. If one of the nutrients is missing, deficiency symptoms occur. The lack of lime leads, among other things, This leads to the absorption of nutrients and trace elements being impaired and the absorption of toxic substances being promoted.
A targeted application of lime fertilizer is applied to acidic soils to raise their pH value, improve the soil structure and supply the cherry trees with nutrients calcium and magnesium. In order to determine exactly how much lime is needed, you should first have the pH value determined by a soil laboratory as part of a soil analysis.
Tips & Tricks
Lime is available in powder form (€36.00 on Amazon) and is mixed in water according to the instructions on the package. The lime coat should be carried out around the beginning of December, extend over all strong trunk and branch parts up to the side shoots and be renewed annually.