6 Best Burlap Wraps For Fruit Trees Old Orchard Keepers Swear By

You walk out to your young orchard after a hard winter thaw and see it: a long, vertical crack in the bark of your favorite apple tree. This isn’t just a cosmetic issue; it’s a wound called sunscald that can invite disease and pests, setting your tree back a full season. A simple roll of burlap, applied in the fall, is the old-school insurance policy that prevents this exact heartbreak.

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Why Burlap is Essential for Tree Protection

Burlap isn’t just for potato sacks; it’s one of the most effective, breathable, and affordable materials for protecting your fruit trees. Its primary job is to moderate the temperature of the tree’s trunk. This simple act prevents a host of problems that can cripple or kill a young tree before it ever bears fruit.

Think of it as a tree’s winter coat. On a sunny winter day, the dark bark of a tree can heat up significantly, waking the cells from dormancy. When the sun sets and the temperature plummets, these active cells freeze and rupture, causing the bark to split. Burlap reflects some of that intense winter sun, keeping the trunk at a more stable, cold temperature and preventing that dangerous freeze-thaw cycle.

Beyond temperature, it’s a physical barrier. Burlap stops deer from rubbing their antlers on your saplings and discourages rabbits and voles from gnawing on the tender bark at the base. It also deters certain boring insects from laying their eggs in the bark’s crevices. It’s a multi-tool for orchard defense, all in one simple, natural roll.

DeWitt Sunbelt Burlap for Sunscald Prevention

Sunscald is the enemy of young, thin-barked trees like maples, cherries, and apples. It almost always happens on the southwest side of the trunk, where the winter sun is most intense. DeWitt’s Sunbelt Burlap is specifically designed to combat this.

This burlap has a lighter, more open weave than heavy-duty winterizing wraps. That’s a good thing for sun protection. It provides enough shade to prevent the bark from overheating without trapping excess moisture against the trunk, which can lead to rot or fungal issues. It’s the perfect balance for regions with sunny but cold winters.

You don’t need a thick blanket for sunscald; you just need a screen. The key is breathability. Wrap the trunk from the base up to the first set of branches, overlapping by about a third with each turn. Secure it with biodegradable twine, and remove it in the spring once the last hard frost has passed.

Jobe’s Burlap Rolls for Young Sapling Safety

When you plant a new sapling, it’s incredibly vulnerable. Its thin, tender bark is a magnet for damage from string trimmers, small animal nibbles, and harsh weather. Jobe’s Burlap Rolls are a go-to for providing that crucial first-year protection.

These rolls are often sold in narrower widths, making them easy to handle and wrap around slender trunks without a lot of excess material. The goal here is to create a simple, protective sleeve. It’s enough to stop a rabbit from girdling the tree overnight but still allows the trunk to breathe and flex as it grows.

Remember, a sapling’s trunk needs to expand. Don’t wrap it as tightly as you would an electrical cord. It should be snug, but you should be able to slide a finger underneath. Using a natural jute twine to tie it off ensures that if you forget to remove it in the spring, the twine will eventually break down and not constrict the growing tree.

Agfabric Burlap Blanket for Winter Insulation

In climates with deep, bitter cold, sunscald is only half the battle. Extreme temperature drops can damage the cambium layer of even more mature trees. This is where a heavier, blanket-style burlap like the ones from Agfabric comes into play.

This isn’t your standard, lightweight wrap. Agfabric’s products are often sold as large, thick sheets. This heavier material traps more air, creating a genuine insulating layer around the trunk. For especially tender trees like figs or certain peach varieties in borderline zones, you can even construct a cage around the tree and wrap the entire thing with this heavy burlap, stuffing it with straw for extra protection.

The tradeoff for this superior insulation is moisture retention. A thick burlap blanket can get soaked in winter rain or snowmelt and hold that wetness against the bark. It is crucial to remove these heavy wraps promptly as soon as the weather breaks in early spring to allow the trunk to dry out completely.

Gardener’s Supply Co. Wrap for Pest Deterrence

Sometimes the biggest threat to a tree isn’t the weather, but what’s crawling on it. Pests like the peach tree borer or apple clearwing moth lay their eggs in bark crevices near the base of the tree, and their larvae tunnel in, causing devastating damage. A physical barrier is your best organic defense.

The burlap wraps from Gardener’s Supply Co. are often treated with a natural repellent or are made with a tighter weave that insects find difficult to penetrate. While no wrap is 100% pest-proof, wrapping the bottom 18-24 inches of the trunk creates a formidable obstacle course for egg-laying pests.

This is a proactive strategy, not a reactive one. You apply the wrap before the pests are active, typically in late spring or early summer, depending on your region and the specific pest you’re targeting. It’s a simple step that can prevent a chemical intervention later on.

Fletcher & Co. Heavy-Duty Burlap for Durability

If you have more than a few trees, buying cheap, thin burlap every year gets old fast. It tears when you’re wrapping, photodegrades by February, and ends up in the compost pile. Fletcher & Co. and similar brands specialize in heavy-duty, tightly-woven burlap that is built to be reused.

This kind of burlap feels substantial in your hands. It’s rated by weight, often 10 ounces per square yard or more. This dense weave not only provides excellent insulation and protection but also stands up to wind, ice, and repeated handling. You can wrap your trees in the fall, then carefully unwrap, dry, and store the burlap in the spring for use the next year.

While the upfront cost is higher, the long-term value is obvious. A good quality, heavy-duty roll will last you three to five seasons, easily. For a hobby farmer trying to be resourceful, investing in durable, reusable materials is always a smart move.

Burpee Eco-Friendly Burlap for Sustainable Orchards

For many of us, a key part of having an orchard is connecting with nature and practicing good stewardship. That means paying attention to the materials we bring onto our land. Burpee’s eco-friendly burlap is made from 100% natural, untreated jute fiber.

This is important for two reasons. First, it contains no synthetic fibers, dyes, or chemical treatments that could potentially leach into the soil around your trees. Second, at the end of its life, it’s completely biodegradable. You can toss it directly into the compost pile, where it will break down and return to the earth.

Some cheaper burlap is treated with petroleum-based chemicals to reduce rot or is blended with synthetic fibers. While effective, this goes against the sustainable ethos of many small-scale growers. Choosing a purely natural product ensures your tree protection aligns with your farming values.

Choosing the Right Burlap Weave and Weight

Not all burlap is created equal. Walking away with the wrong type can do more harm than good, like trapping moisture or offering no real protection. The decision comes down to a few key factors.

First, consider the weave. A loose, open weave is great for sunscald prevention because it’s highly breathable. A tight, dense weave is better for insulation and durability, as it traps more air and resists tearing. If you can easily see through the fabric, it’s a light weave.

Next is the weight, typically measured in ounces per square yard.

• 5-7 oz: This is lightweight burlap. It’s best for single-season use, sun protection, and wrapping root balls for transport. It’s cheap but not durable.
• 8-10 oz: This is the all-purpose, medium-weight sweet spot. It’s durable enough for a few seasons and offers a good balance of insulation and breathability. This is the right choice for most hobby orchardists.
• 12+ oz: This is heavy-duty, industrial-grade burlap. It provides maximum insulation and is extremely durable, but it can also hold a lot of moisture and needs to be managed carefully.

Finally, decide between treated and untreated. Untreated, natural jute is fully biodegradable and best for sustainable practices. Treated burlap may resist rot for longer but introduces chemicals you may not want. For protecting tree trunks, the longevity of treated burlap is rarely worth the tradeoff. Stick with the natural stuff.

Ultimately, wrapping your trees is a small investment of time in the fall that pays huge dividends in tree health and fruit production for years to come. By matching the right type of burlap to your specific climate and goals, you’re not just protecting a tree; you’re safeguarding your future harvests.