Related: Shop Biodynamic Tree Paste · Read the mixing and application instructions
Biodynamic Tree Paste is a traditional coating used on the trunks and major limbs of woody perennials. JPI supplies a ready-made paste for brush application or dilution as a spray. This guide brings together current JPI application directions and historical orchard recipes and observations.
Historical biodynamic writers describe bark and cambium care through practical observations and spiritual interpretations. Their recipes and reported experiences below are attributed background; use the current JPI product listing and application instructions for the material you buy.
Apply tree paste:
JPI’s winter tree-paste article describes application after leaf drop or before spring sap flow and bud break. This is seasonal application guidance rather than a guarantee of wound healing.
– Summary of Applied Biodynamics, no. 86 (Fall/Winter 2014–2015): 15–16.House’s historical homemade recipe (55 micron; distinct from JPI’s current 50–60 mesh direction): Tree paste can be used in a sprayer but, if not diluted and filtered through a very fine strainer (55 micron), cleaning will be frustrating.
– Applied Biodynamics, no. 101 (Autumn 2021): 6.
Current JPI spray method: Mix 1 cup of paste in 1 gallon of water, stir 20 minutes, strain through a 50–60 mesh screen or paint strainer, and spray promptly. One quart diluted as a spray treats approximately 6–8 trees. For brush use, add only enough water for a thick-paint consistency. Follow the full application instructions.
Historical DIY recipe (Pfeiffer/Thun tradition)
Moisten with BD 508 (horsetail tea; fermentation not required, though the fermented form tends to be more effective—see Kolisko).
Common enhancements:
Most practitioners add BD 500, BD 508, and/or BC. Some use Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray instead.
– Hugh Courtney, Applied Biodynamics, no. 69 (Summer 2010): 8.Tree paste has the ability to heal large wounds such as broken limbs... a miracle treatment... for apples, Japanese maples, and English yew.
– Marjory House, Applied Biodynamics, no. 101 (Autumn 2021): 5–7.
Hugh Lovel’s augmented recipe (from Quantum Agriculture):
Moisten with equisetum tea or barrel compost
Lovel emphasizes the remineralization aspect—his additions of phosphate and ash support phosphoric and potassium uptake through the bark, acting as a “cambial fertilizer” especially useful in impoverished soils or after heavy pruning.
Formula note: JPI confirms that the current Tree Paste formula includes Barrel Compound. The 2025 list below is retained as a dated recipe reference; follow the current product directions for application.
Recipe recorded in this guide (2025):
Dilution for Spray Use:
Do not apply when rain is expected, as it may wash off.
– JPI Handout, Winter Application: Tree Paste Instructions, 2025.
The following account describes practitioner variations, not the current JPI product application directions. In some vineyard and foliar contexts, tree paste may be significantly diluted and applied as a broad microbial or mineral stimulant. When used this way, it behaves more like a compost tea than a bark salve. While dilution ratios vary, some practitioners use 1:10 or more with warm water and stir rhythmically for full dispersion. See Pfeiffer’s discussion in The Biodynamic Treatment of Fruit Trees, Berries, and Shrubs for details.
Historical Homemade Batch (Marjory House, about 75–100 trees):
Other practical notes:
The cambium is the tree’s boundary between inner and outer worlds—a sheath of transformation where new tissue forms. It connects the tiniest roots with the highest leaves, forming a continuous, living membrane. Within the tree, the cambium is like space itself: subtle, enveloping, and communicative. Just as cosmic space conveys air, light, warmth, and moisture to all beings, the cambium conveys those same forces inward to the tree’s metabolism. Painting the bark, then, is not cosmetic—it is nutritive and ritualistic.
The ‘life sap’ penetrates the tree enlivening the bark and the cambium. The combination of the warmth element and the cambium forms the basis for the effect of the starry forces being responsible for the tree’s shape, and stimulates new fruiting.
– Maria Thun, Results from the Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar (Floris Books, 2003), 189.
Just as BD 500 enlivens soil life through the root zone, tree paste addresses the aerial sheath. When roots cannot be accessed—especially in orchards or mature trees—the trunk becomes the site of cosmic exchange.
Fertilizing should be done via the bark... Horn Manure Preparation establishes a good relationship between the Earth sap and the wood sap... Applying Horn Silica at suitable times helps the trees to turn towards the periphery helping new starry forces to act in the cambium.
– Ibid., 190.
Michael Phillips offers this agronomic perspective:
Biodynamic tree paste isn't bull but I can understand your asking. The manure introduces beneficial organisms and the clay has long been noted as a skin rejuvenator. The sand acts as a binder... Tree paste should help deter perennial canker... A manure pack on bacteria-laden bark crevices will check some fire blight before it spreads.
– Michael Phillips, The Holistic Orchard (Chelsea Green, 2011), 201.
As one JPI writer reflects:
Tree paste is protective like a plaster, invigorating like a pack, and nourishing like a compost tea... I think of it as gesture, ointment, skin, and sacrament—all in one.
– JPI Substack Article: Tree Paste, 2025.
In this light, tree paste serves as a conscious act of care, offering both physical repair and etheric alignment. It is a gesture of responsibility toward the tree’s upright form—its incarnated expression of celestial order.
What is Biodynamic Tree Paste?
Biodynamic Tree Paste is a coating used in biodynamic orchard care on the trunks and major limbs of trees. JPI supplies it as a paste for brush or gloved-hand application and as a diluted spray. Growers use it to support bark condition and tree vitality, especially after pruning or harsh weather. See the current Tree Paste instructions.
How do I apply Biodynamic Tree Paste?
Remove loose bark from the trunk and major limbs without stripping sound bark. Apply the paste with a whitewash brush or heavy-duty rubber gloves; add water if needed for a thick-paint consistency. For sprayer use, JPI directs one cup of paste per gallon of water, a 20-minute stir, straining through a 50–60-mesh screen or paint strainer, and spraying promptly. Avoid application when rain is expected. Read the full instructions.
What are the benefits of using Biodynamic Tree Paste?
Growers use Tree Paste to coat and care for bark after pruning and during late-fall or late-winter orchard work. JPI describes it as supporting bark condition and tree vitality, while cited biodynamic practitioners report favorable experience with wound care and ailing or damaged trees. It complements attentive pruning, weather timing, and tree-specific care.
Can I use Biodynamic Tree Paste on any type of tree?
JPI’s general directions apply Tree Paste to the trunks and major limbs of woody perennials. Choose the brush or diluted-spray method according to the tree and bark condition, apply above freezing when no rain is forecast, and use tree-specific guidance for vulnerable or damaged specimens. Follow the JPI method.
Pfeiffer writes, “There should always be an open collar of one to two feet around the trunk.” Keep mulch outside that collar. The collar may be level or slope away from the trunk, never toward it. This companion practice keeps mulch clear of the bark while Tree Paste itself is applied according to the separate instructions above.
Source: Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming, Volume 1 (1983), p. 90.
