That painted tree with a white trunk has a secret meaning. Find out why gardeners and farmers do it, and how it helps protect the tree from harm.

Southwest injury did not kill my mulberry tree. It continues to provide shade in my old yard in Las Cruces, even with the badly buckling bark, but I know that the tree is not operating optimally ...

As the trees mature, they become more resistant to sunscald, the result of thickening bark. But in the interim, people protect trees by painting them white at the base.

We’ve been using paint dots for 25 years or so now, so some trees have several paint dots on them.” Pruning and treatment dots also give a heads-up to property owners near the trees.

Lubugo bark cloth is made by the Baganda people and sourced from the bark of the mutuba tree. Lubugo translates to English as "funerary shroud" and this is its primary use.

So often we choose a tree because of its flowers, leaves, fall color or its fruit. Often, we forget about the bark. However, on many trees, the bark is the most interesting part of the tree.

Q. I need some advice on splitting bark on my pecan trees. Trunks are estimated 14-inch diameter, some are splitting 4 and 5 feet in vertical length right up the side of the tree.

The last cinnamon bark tree that must be mentioned is big berry manzanita (Arctostphylos glauca). It grows slowly to a height of 20 feet with an equal spread.