Drew,
This is what they look like when I get done with them
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Drywall compound makes it more brittle. It will crack and pop off in patches by spring. I’m not sure if it is from tree activity or thermal expansion/contraction. I had to rub the trunk to get all the loose stuff off before I could repaint. Only half of the old coat came off, which made me a little worried about the integrity of the next coat. It seems to have stayed on through the summer. I’m mostly worried about borers at my location. I try to put a coat on just before I expect them.
AJ,
Do you mix you paint with water? If so, what is tne ratio?
You’re putting too much in the paint.
I tried to approximate the 1:1:1 ratio. Since I was using premixed drywall compound I put a little less water in. The water estimate was the sketchiest. I put less water and drywall compound in this year. I won’t know the result until next spring. If I still have the same problem I will go probably go to 1:1 water and paint.
Many say mix the paint 50:50 with water but Alan posted a Cornell study on GW in 2012 http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1439988/painting-tree-trunks that I base my treatments off of http://nysipm.cornell.edu/\/grantspgm/projects/proj06/fruit/kain.pdf. I always use interior undiluted white latex paint though exterior is fine to as long as it’s water based and plain paint. Here is another North Carolina State University expert confirming this method http://articles.extension.org/pages/60831/should-i-paint-apple-tree-trunks-to-prevent-sunscald#.VkkRbTZdHIU
I have read all these articles since GW. This was my first time painting trees so I took a middle of road approach.
My paint was old, about 8 years old. It was interior latex paint. I mixed it 40/60 water/paint. I love to hear from others’s reports on their experiments next year.
If nothing, my trees look good (to me) in satin, off white color 
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I wonder what would happen if you bought a bunch of habañeros, put them in a blender with some water, blend them smooth, then mix that with the paint. Would the rabbits not like them, or would they develop a taste for spicy food. I keep thinking about doing that, then forget when I’m in the produce section of the store. There is also a bitter spray to keep dogs from chewing stuff. Maybe spray the trunk before painting it.
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I read an article About rabbits’s taste. They have extra taste buds. The author theorized that rabbits may be able to differentiate non poisonsous from poisonous vegetation. Most poisonous vegetation tastes bitter.
I do not know rabbits can taste spiciness. I figure instead of spiciness, I would love to try painting tree trunks with something very bitter.
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Maybe use horseradish and rosemary… or aspirin… I dont know. I have both growing in my yard.
Rabbits can taste capsicum as most mammals can. I powder peppers and use it to keep the squirrels away. Plus I use super hots, for example jalapenos have between 1 thousands and 20 thousand scoville units of heat. What I use has 1 million scoville units. So imagine the hottest jalapeno you ever had, this stuff is over 50 times hotter. I use mask and gloves when handling. I grow them myself. Carolina Reaper can be as high as 1.5 million scoville units. It holds the world record for hottest pepper. For consumption I grow Scotch Bonnet peppers from Jamaica about 100-350 thousand scoville units.I use them for jerk sauce and as one would use cayenne pepper, which is rated at 30-50 thousand scoville units. The reaper might even kill the rabbit if he dared to eat anything with my spray on it. Not from the heat but the severe gas it can cause.
I grow other super hots for fun, they are prolific plants and fun to grow. Interesting looking peppers too!
Currently i have seeds for
Bhut Jokia (Ghost pepper)
Bhut Orange Copenhagen
Carolina Reaper
Fatalii Gourmet Jigsaw
Trinidad Scorpion yellow
and a few others.
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Deer B Gone is said to be so bitter (many times that of quinine) that it discourages rabbits and deer. Haven’t tried it, but know people who have and swear by it. Recommended by Montana State University agronomists.
I listen to a lot of garden shows podcasts, and the most suggested repellent by far is Plantskydd.
http://plantskydd.com/Plantskydd-Deer-Repellent.html
I recall reading a study on deer repellents, and Plantskydd was indeed the most effective deer repellent. Kinda pricey, and I hear it’s a bear to apply. I use the #2 choice - putrefied eggs. It works like a treat, and leaves a white coating that is fairly rain-proof. Might even help with preventing sunburn on trunks.
How to make putrefied eggs
- Get one to two dozen eggs. And a sturdy one gallon jug. I like windshield washer fluid jugs.
- Crack the eggs, whip them up, and pour them into the jug.
- Add water to the jug - dilute the eggs by 1/2.
- Set the jug somewhere warm. First batch can take a while.
- Pour it in your sprayer and apply!
Don’t ever clean out the jug, just keep on adding more eggs. I find it rots quicker/better if you add a little micronized blood meal to the jug. Sieve the blood meal - if you add pieces larger than dust they can clog up your sprayer. And un-clogging a sprayer filled with rotten eggs is an experience you don’t want to repeat.
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I just threw up in my mouth thinking about rotten eggs mixed with rotten blood. I bet the flies are everywhere when you start spraying this stuff.
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Ya, no kidding. Makes a fence sound like a really great idea.
I’m not sure about jack rabbits but Kansas cottontails eat a lot of dandelion greens. Having eaten plenty myself I know they are pretty bitter. The greens they claim are good for your organs and perhaps rabbits know that. They love elm trees so when the snows are bad and they are starving I drop some elms so they leave my fruit alone.
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The flies do enjoy the aroma. Here’s a quick tip. If the dogs find the scent appealing, let it rot a bit more. When it’s ripe even dogs find it disgusting.
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This is the paint I’ve been using. Everything is covered in frozen ice now so I didn’t get that paint on a moment to soon.
I would get you a good pair of jersey gloves when you put the paint on. Kansas wind storms paint me about as much as I get on the trunks. A lesson you would think I should have learned by now. One thing about Kansas don’t bother to wait for the wind to stop blowing or you might never get anything done.
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Clark you can use brush and not your hand 
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