What looks like a strange stylistic choice is actually a quiet act of protection. When winter sun hits bare bark, it can heat one side of the trunk far more than the other. As temperatures plunge at night, that rapid change stresses the living tissue under the bark, causing long vertical cracks known as sunscald. These wounds don’t always kill a tree immediately, but they weaken it year after year, letting insects, fungi, and decay slowly invade.
A simple mix of half white latex paint and half water creates a reflective shield that keeps the bark from overheating in the first place. By stabilizing temperature swings, caretakers prevent the damaging cycle of expansion and contraction. Unlike orange marks that signal removal or purple stripes that warn trespassers, white on a trunk is a sign of care: someone chose to give that tree a better chance of surviving the harshest months.
