Spent 3 years pruning oaks in July before a client in Austin called me out on it

I finally switched to dormant pruning for my live oaks after that Austin job and I can't believe the difference in healthy new growth by spring compared to the summer hack jobs I was doing, has anyone else noticed how much better trees bounce back when you wait for winter?

3 comments

3 Comments

xena12d ago

Oh man, I was totally in the same boat! I used to think summer pruning was fine because that's just what everyone around me did. But after a couple seasons of switching to winter work on my live oaks, I completely changed my mind. The bounce back is ridiculous, way less stress on the tree and the growth comes in so much stronger and cleaner. It's one of those things I wish I had figured out way earlier.

kaid592d ago

Yeah, @xena1, that's exactly what I found too! I switched to dormant pruning on my red maples and the difference is night and day. The cuts heal so much faster and I don't get that weird dieback I used to see in the summer. It's honestly made my trees look way better overall.

grace_allen55m ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I've been pruning my live oaks in early spring for years and they always bounce back fine. Maybe it depends on your soil or local climate, but I've never had dieback or weird growth from it. Feels like sometimes people just overthink this stuff.