Just noticed a huge difference after pruning my client's oak 3 months early

I had a client in Austin where I pruned their live oak in late August instead of waiting for winter dormancy. The tree bounced back faster and had way less dieback than the ones I usually hit in December. Has anyone else tried shifting their pruning schedule and seen better results?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_williams516d ago

Live oaks are tough that way, they seem to heal up better when the weather is still warm. It reminds me of how I trim my roses in the late summer sometimes and they bloom again before the first frost hits. Timing is everything with plants, and what books say isn't always the best reality.

evan_burns9516d ago

@margaret_williams5 you prune roses in late summer? that sounds crazy risky to me.

derek65615d agoTop Commenter

Margaret, I gotta push back a little on the live oaks thing... they're actually better left alone in the cooler months. Pruning an oak when it's warm can attract those sap beetles that carry oak wilt, which is a real problem. And with roses, late summer pruning works fine for some types but it really depends on your zone and the variety. You're right that books don't always match reality, but tree oaks especially have some hard rules you don't wanna bend.