Many gardeners spend a lot of time clearing tree trunks and branches of growths such as lichen and moss.
This is often written about in advice when it comes to seasonal whitewashing of trees. It is believed that according to the rules, these formations must be removed before applying the protective composition.
In fact, before you start cleaning, you need to find out the reason for the appearance of this vegetation.
Here's what experts say about it. In fact, there's nothing scary about lichens. In fact, they're a symbiosis of fungi and algae. They grow on trees, treated wood, rocks, and even in well-lit places.
Why do lichens appear?
It is a mistake to consider these formations as mold or fungal disease. These growths have no roots and feed not on tree juices, but on substances brought in by dust, rainwater or fog. And in such strict asceticism, lichens live for decades without causing harm to fruit trees.
But the most important thing to think about is that if a tree is covered with these growths, it means that it is weakened by some kind of disease.
Fight against lichens
You can scrape off the growths mechanically for an infinitely long time - with a wooden scraper or a brush (but not a metal one). After that, treat with a 5% solution of iron sulfate (500 g per 10 l of water).
Then the trunks and skeletal branches are whitewashed.
However, before you begin to fight lichens, you need to find the cause of the disease. It is possible that the tree cannot be cured and it would be better to remove it so that it does not infect other plantings.
