# cutting back oak trees



## billcross (Sep 4, 2001)

we have been having alot of rain, my oaks are falling and breaking 10" and bigger limbs on a regular base know, I have around 30 are so. There are live oaks I think, I just want to trim them to help keep them for breaking worst then needed, and do it when it is not too harmful to the tree itself. heck I love these great big shade giving, arts of natual. thank you for your help






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## treeclimber165 (Sep 4, 2001)

I'm not trying to discourage you, but just how are you going to be able to properly trim the trees without damaging them if you don't even know what kind of trees they are? 
Hiring an arborist who spends his life caring for trees is a sure-fire way of PROPERLY getting your trees trimmed without causing unintended damage. There is a little more to it than 'whacking off a few limbs'. :angel: If you really love those big trees than they deserve proper care from someone who can identify problems and prune for future needs. You might just do more damage than good by trying to 'keep the limbs from breaking'. 

What is causing the limbs to break? Gotta identify it to fix it!


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## active (Sep 7, 2001)

Treeclimber is on the money. If you prune Oak trees improperly they tend to react poorly, they will often decline and die over a 5-10 year period. 

I am not certain what you mean by " my oaks are falling " i am presuming you mean the leaves are falling off the tree. In wet weather it could mean Antracnose or insects ect. improper pruning can often multiply the damage from these pests.

People often think that hireing a Certified Arborist means spending hundreds of dollars. You can usually have an evaluation done for a very reasonable price, much less than it will cost you to remove dead oak trees.

Jim


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## KevinM (Sep 15, 2001)

Active I have to disagree with you here on this subject about oak trees. I have seen many many trees pruned horribly by certified arborists and by other arborists and also the tree wont die in 5-10 years they will just suffer from improper pruning and will develop shoots in them. Certified arborists the worst thing that has happened to this industry.


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## treeclimber165 (Sep 15, 2001)

*KevinM*

I don't know how or why you are so dead-set against certified arborists. I'm sure there are good and bad ones out there, as in any profession. But to bad-mouth ALL certified arborists is just wrong. I'd rather have a tree man that has invested time, education and testing than hire some Joe-shmoe with a pick-up truck and a saw. People calling themselves tree men with NO knowledge of what they are doing is the worst thing to ever happen to this industry. Certification is one small step toward reducing the 'hacking' being passed off as 'tree care'.


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## Treeman14 (Sep 15, 2001)

Amen to that, Brian.


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## active (Sep 16, 2001)

KevinM 

I believe the shoots you refer to are known as Epicormic shoots and generally indicate a severely weakened plant. The pruning itself is rarely, if ever, the cause of death or decline. In the same way AIDS is not the cause of death in a human patient, but rather the persons body can no longer fight off the most basic cold or flu.

The Oak trees mentioned above, obviously, are experiencing high stress levels. If you add to that stress you can most certainly kill the tree.

The following is an account of what happend to a oak that was on a large estate across from the golfcourse I was working at.

A company came in 7 years ago and removed about 40 percent of the crown on a 60' Quercus. The tree then developed Epicormic shoots, followed by severe wilting in the summer. Over the next 5 years the tree continued to decline, most likely due to an inablility to compartmentalize the pest causing the decline, and was removed last year. 

In referance to certified arborist I can only say that all the ones which I know of do a good job and are very knowledgeable. I am sorry to hear that your opinion of certified arborists is so low. After 10 years in the Horticulture/Arboriculture business I am taking my ISA exam this fall.

Jim


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## Toddppm (Sep 17, 2001)

KevinM
Tell the truth, I have a feeling the M in your name stands for McPeak You must live in a small bubble to believe something like that.


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