I need to borrow some of the collective expertise of the outdoor board. I've got two smaller live oaks, probably 8 feet tall, that have exploded over the last year. From about half way up the trunk they are a rat's nest of branches. I'm thinking they need some trimming. Given their size is this something I can do or will I more than likely screw this tree up for the life of it. I'm pretty handy but I'm no arborist. Also should this be done this time of year? I'm in Katy if that matters at all. Any advice is welcome.

Live oaks are pretty tough. I prune mine back year round, but it would probably be best to do it in the winter. We cut the branches off at the trunk. When they are young we prune them at least once a year. No matter what you do, you won't hurt it if you just thin the branches out.

Any limb you trim should be cut flush with the limb or trunk it grows out of. Do not leave a stub.
You should also paint any cut surface to prevent Oak Decline. Live Oaks and Red Oaks are very susceptible to Oak Decline and there is no treatment.
I would contact your County Extension office and they can provide you with good info. on proper pruning and Oak Decline prevention.

An arboist should be able to trim it up nice. Probably worth it at this stage to get an arborist to look at it and do the work. May have a better ey on what to cut.

I have a huge live oak in my yard and I get it trimmed by someone every three years. I trim the small sprouts every year. However, with a big tree it is easy to see where you want it to grow.

I trim mine when they are dormant. That would be late December/early January. Also in the hottest part of Summer usually late July/August.

quote:

---

Any limb you trim should be cut flush with the limb or trunk it grows out of. Do not leave a stub.
You should also paint any cut surface to prevent Oak Decline. Live Oaks and Red Oaks are very susceptible to Oak Decline and there is no treatment.

---

No offense to the guy who posted the above, but he is wrong on just about everything he said.

Don't use flush cuts. When you trim a tree using flush cuts, your tree will take longer to contain the injury leading to the potential of more decay. So, you need to leave a small stub.

Painting cuts traps moisture which leads to further decay. Don't paint unless you trim your oaks from February to July.

Live Oaks and Red Oaks are indeed succeptible to Oak Wilt - a fungus that attacks the vascular system of the trees. There is a treatment by the way. However, if you prune your trees in August through January, you don't have to worry about the overland spread of Oak Wilt. The fungal spore mats of Oak Wilt are not active at that time. So, prune away. Notwithstanding, if your neighbor has Oak Wilt, your trees can get it from root to root contact.

Call an arborist.

quote:

---

Painting cuts traps moisture which leads to further decay. Don't paint unless you trim your oaks from February to July.

---

Ever had a tree with Oak Wilt? We spent thousands of dollars in out subdivision because one neighbor got Oak Wilt because he didn't paint the wound. ALWAYS PAINT. ALWAYS PAINT.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-Thomas Jefferson

I understand the theory behind painting cuts, but it is not necessary to paint your cuts in the winter or heat of the summer.

The Oak Wilt fungal spore mat smells kind of like perfume. Lots of insects are attracted to it and they can get the spores on their body. If one of those insects happens to be a sap feeding insect, he might then fly to the next neighborhood over and feed on the sap from a freshly pruned tree. In turn, that tree would most likely now have oak wilt.

As I said earlier, it is not necessary to paint the cuts (eliminating the sap flow) in the late summer and winter because the fungal spore mats do not exist during that time of year.

Fatty is right about about not needing to paint tree cuts, it's a waste of money. However, you do need to make sure that the cuts are basically flush with the crotch of the tree. It does not have to be an exact level cut, but leaving stubs on the tree slows/prevents the healing process altogether and can also lead to some pretty ugly scarification of the tree. You also need to make sure that any new growth that you trim back is trimmed back to a pre-existing bud on the same branch. This produces more rapid growth from the desired branches in the coming months. Also, if you are planning on pruning(especially live oaks) you need to do it sooner rather than later, as in the end of October. I can thank my A&M degree in horticulture, hopefully at least, for a little bit of tree knowledge. I forgot to add, if you're dealing with small branches that are halfway up the trunk, these are most likely "suckers". They form on the base/trunk of most trees and feel free to cut them back all the way to the trunk without any hesitation.



[This message has been edited by aggies_2009 (edited 10/26/2009 12:05a).]