Pruning Trees

[ronwood]

I have a number of oak trees (around 5 ft. tall) in my yard that I would like to remove some of the lower limbs. Could I do them during the winter months? Is there any thing else that I would need to consider.

Thanks
Ron

[beenthere]

Shape them the way you eventually want them in your yard. Branches above a certain point so you can walk under them, or limbs coming out so the grand kids can hang a swing on them, or limb-free tree bole that has a good clear saw log, or lots of limbs so the kids can have a good tree to climb. Shade tree with large, low crown?

All depends on what you want. But do it in the winter (I'd do it closer to spring growth to keep the cut from drying out back under the bark).

[DonT]

Pruning the trees when very young can save you alot of problems down the road.look for branches that will form tight crotches now and will create included bark later.Removing more than 30% of leaf production of a young tree is not recomended.Proper pruning cuts are important as well.Make your cut right where the limb meets the branch collar ridge.avoid tear out on branches by making three cuts,one under cut about 8inches out ,a cut on top of this cut to remove most of the branch and then a final cut at the outer edge of the branch collar ridge.There are a number of websites that explain pruning.

[Ianab]

You can certainly do a lot to shape the eventual shape of a tree with a little careful pruning at an early age. In a forest situation those lower branches would usually be shaded and be shed early in the trees life. But in an open lawn situation they still receive light and will keep growing, and the tree takes on a more heavily branched "open grown" form. By removing them when they are small you only create a small wound that quickly heals over, so it's better to prune early, than to wait and take off branches that are a couple of inches thick and leave a huge wound that takes years to scar over.

Like DonT says, don't hit the tree too hard, but removing the lowest branches this season is fine, then go up another foot or so next winter. Eventually you end up with a 10ft tree, with 5ft of green growth on the top, and a nice clear trunk you can mow around. Same if it's develops multiple leaders, take them out early when they are just twigs and it has no long term effect. Likewise if you want to force a tree into a shorter, more branched form with multiple leaders, you take out the top leader and leave the lower branches. Like a tree growing in an exposed location where the wind or salt keeps taking out the top leaders and the tree grows a flatter form

Ian

[Chuck White]

I have a Red Oak that my wife and I planted and 2 Black Walnut trees that were planted years ago and about every 2-3 years, I go out and prune 1 to 2 rows of the bottom limbs.

I also cut any upper limbs that don't look good!

As mentioned earlier, I prune them so that they are high enough so people don't walk into the limbs.

[ronwood]

Thanks for the input.
Ron

[forest keeper]

Hey Ron.  Tree pruning in the winter is fine. In fact, we save alot of our pruning jobs for this season. No bugs, no diseases in the air, and the tree can get to work on comparmentalizing and growing callous wood as soon as spring rolls around. If you are a climber you might want to take a look up in the canopy and see if there are any limbs that are getting to long and head them back.
Also, don't forget to make a stub cut on those lower limbs (see picture). I know that seems basic but I've seen plenty of rips on tree trunks from improper pruning cuts.

[smalldog]

I have heard you should prune oaks in the winter to keep from getting oak wilt.

[Ron Scott]

That is correct, especially red oak.

[SPIKER]

I looked but didnt see what species of OAK you were wanting to trim.   Some such as PIN oak it will do little good to trim lower branches as the upper branches will grow DOWN into the now exposed sunny area.   There is a term for this but I forget what they call it.   I have a pretty good yard full of PIN oak that I had trimmed up yet with in a year or so the branches are right down to ground level due to the sun exposure.   I have "Re-Trimmed" them several times so I can mow under them but they seem to always grow back lower branches either by lowering upper branches and or actually growing new branches.

Mark

[ronwood]

Mark,

Most on the trees white oaks.

Ron

[jayves922]

It's already spring but the weather's not quite like it. Would it be good to prune oak around this time of year?

[Ron Scott]

Best to wait at least until after July, especially if Oak Wilt is nearby.

[beenthere]

jayves922
The rule in WI is before April 1. A bit past that here.

And waiting would be as Ron says. ;)

[jayves922]

Thanks for the reply Ron and beenthere! I guess 'now' is both a little too late and a little too early. Maybe, I'll just have to wait till July, instead.

[sjfarkas]

this last sunday my climber was removing a limb and did exactly what forest keeper had diagramed.  The limb still ripped about 10 feet down.  After the limb was down we started looking at it and it was already fractured.  We had heavy snows this year and are assuming that was the cause of the fracture, but there were no visible signs of damage to the limb prior to cutting.  Is there any way to predict this or avoid tearing in this case?

[bill m]

How big was the limb he was cutting? On bigger limbs they usually weigh to much to do that kind of cut and take the whole limb all at once. Best to go farther out on the limb (depending on size of limb could be as much as 6 to 10 feet, experience will tell you how far) to make your undercut and then top cut.

[sjfarkas]

The limb was 6".  We cut a good 10' off of the end of it before he went up the tree.  He was cutting about 5' past the crotch.  I've seen some stuff tear, but never like this. 

[bill m]

Maybe not enough of an undercut??? You can also do a vertical bypass cut depending on size, and angle of the limb.

[sjfarkas]

the under cut was about an inch-inch and a half.  we didn't measure it, but it was deeper than would normally go.  If I could figure out how to post pics I would diagram what it looked like.  I don't have the patience to figure out the pic posting.