How-to Guide
How to Wrap a Tree Trunk for Winter
The short answer
Wrap only young, thin-barked, and newly planted trees, such as maple, crabapple, linden, and fruit trees; thick-barked mature trees don't need it. The injury you're preventing is sunscald (southwest winter injury), where winter sun warms the bark on the south and west side by day and it refreezes at night, killing a strip of bark.
Use a light-colored, crepe-paper-type tree wrap (not plastic, dark materials, or burlap, which can harm the tree), applied in late fall before hard freezes and removed in early spring once freezing nights have passed, because wrap left on all year traps moisture and pests. Wrap for the first one to three winters after planting. For gnawing rabbits, add a hard plastic tree guard around the base.
What sunscald is and which trees need wrapping
Sunscald, also called southwest winter injury, is a problem of thin-barked trees such as maple, ash, crabapple, mountain ash, and fruit trees, and it's especially common on newly transplanted trees. It shows up as an elongated, sunken, dried, or cracked area of dead bark, usually on the southwest side of the trunk.
The cause is temperature swing: winter sun warms the dark bark on the south and west side during the day, then the temperature drops sharply at night and the active tissue is killed. Colorado State Extension lists young thin-barked species like linden, maple, ginkgo, crabapple, and redbud as benefiting from wrapping, while thick, furrowed-bark trees like bur oak do not need it.
Choosing and applying the wrap
Material matters. Use a light-colored crepe-paper-type tree wrap, which reflects sun and sheds water; Colorado State warns that using plastic, dark-colored materials, or burlap can result in tree damage. Start at the base and wrap upward in overlapping layers to just above the lowest branches.
Timing is the other half. Apply the wrap in late fall, around the end of November, before the risk of freezing temperatures, and plan to remove it the following spring. Wrap young trees for only the first one to three winters after planting; once the bark thickens and furrows, trunk protection is no longer needed.
Removing it, and guarding against rodents
Take the wrap off in early spring, around mid-April, once the risk of freezing nights has passed. This step is not optional: tree wrap left on all year can trap moisture against the bark and harbor insects and pests during the growing season, so don't leave it on year-round.
Winter also brings animal damage. Rabbits and other rodents gnaw bark near the base, which can girdle and kill a young tree, so a hard plastic tree guard around the lower trunk protects against both sunscald and gnawing. As an alternative to wrapping, you can shade the trunk by standing a light-colored board or an opaque fence on the south and west side of the tree. For broader winter protection of woody plants, see our guide on protecting shrubs in winter.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Colorado State University Extension - Wrapping Trees for Winter — States young thin-barked trees (e.g., linden, maple, ginkgo, crabapple, redbud) benefit from wrapping while thick-barked trees like bur oak do not; recommends a light-colored crepe-paper-type wrap and warns that plastic, dark materials, or burlap can cause tree damage; advises applying at the end of November and removing in early spring around mid-April; states trees should only be wrapped for the first one to three years after planting and that wrap should not be left on all year.
- Iowa State University Extension - Protecting Trees and Shrubs in Winter — Describes sunscald as an elongated, sunken, dried, or cracked area of dead bark usually on the southwest side of a tree, most susceptible on young, newly planted, and thin-barked trees, and notes trunks can be wrapped in fall with tree wrap or plastic tree guards to prevent sunscald as well as damage from rabbits.
- Utah State University Extension - Sunscald Injury or Southwest Winter Injury on Deciduous Trees — States sunscald (southwest winter injury) is a problem of thin-barked trees such as maple, ash, crabapple, mountain ash, and fruit trees, caused when bark on the south and west side warms during the day and then freezes at night, and that it is especially a problem on newly transplanted trees.