When to prune oak?

[RavioliKid]

Hi, you all!

Long time, no see! But, I think of you...

My father wants to know when he can prune a branch on an oak without getting oak wilt. We lost a tree already from overzealous pruning.

[Tom]

Hey Rav!

[LeeB]

In the dead cold of the winter is best as far as I know.

[RavioliKid]

Thanks, Lee!

And, hey yourself, Tom!

What's new?

[Tom]

Not me!!   

Jeff busted his butt the other day.
Chet is in prison
Charlie went back to work making bowls
and .. Ron Scott is hard to find.  He keeps going on road trips.

Wenrich is still hanging around and sawing
EAB is killing trees in Mich.  and nobody is growing Paulownia.

How 'bout you?

[Furby]

It's late enough in the season now, that you should be ok, based on what I've read Rav.

[Chet]

Hey Rav, yer right it's been awhile. Tell yer DAD ta go for it, he's perfectly safe pruning his oak right now.

And yup I git ta leave da prison once in awhile. 

[Phorester]

Well hello, Rav.  Long time no see.  Glad to see you are still around.

Yep, like everybody else says, prune now.  There's no bugs or bacteria or fungal spores flying around this time of year, so they can't infect new wounds.  How big is the branch?  Pruned branches under 1" diameter will close up in the first quick spurt of growth next spring. But if the branch is bigger, it might stay open for several years.

[gharlan]

Around here in oak wilt country they say January or August. Seems the beetles do not move in extreme heat or cold. They also say to paint the wound with a pruning paint to seal from the pest. But if the tree is close enough to have root contact with an infected tree it to will get it and die. I went to a seminar this past summer about it and they are now saying it can not be cured. You can only prolong the life of an infected tree with treatment. Kinda sad as an awful lot of people are loosing great yard trees from it.   Good luck

[LeeB]

My experiance with oakwilt in Texas says if you lost one tree to oak wilt the rest of them are in serious danger of following suit. Oak wilt travels not only by infestation from bugs but also from tree to tree by root contact. It is a slow moving, insidious disease that I haven't ever seen any way to stop. I watched my neighbors spend 10's of thousands of dollars to try and stop it and it did no good. I did nothing to my trees, exspecialy no trimming and manage to stave it off for several more years. It was finaly rearing its deadly head amongst my trees just as I sold out and moved to Arkansas. Trees will look fine one day and within two to three weeks they are toast. The Texas Forestry Service recomended not using the wood from red oak for anything including firewood as the spoors were expecialy promninant in the red just under the bark. It also attacked the live oaks, however they said it was ok to utilize the wood from it. It can wipe out entire stands and leave adjacent stqnds untuched only to come back the next year and take it also. I have seen a few younger live oaks manage to survive but never a red. I hope your dad's trees manage to escape from it.

[gharlan]

If i recall correctly they said the red oaks were the host for the spores so do not use those trees for anything. They said the tree will kinda have a rotten cantaloupe smell if it is a host. I guess the live oaks just get the disease but do not host it so the wood is ok to use. I do know there are a lot more dead live oaks then reds around here though. I guess I am a little mercenary as i hope to find some semi straight ones to try my hand at sawing and drying. Although I have been told they produce airplane props. But it is such pretty wood I just have to try.

[LeeB]

gharlan,
            You can get it to dry straight if you can get is sawn straight. Keep a sharp blade and plenty of them. They won't last long. Sap build up is a big problem causing the blades to want to wander. Did I mention it's like sawing steel?

[gharlan]

Thanks LeeB  I am going to try it as soon as I can find some logs that do not look to twisted or bent. I am afraid all my experience so far is in cutting oak of some kind. Mostly post oak but some burr. I do not seem to be able to get more than 200 bd ft from a blade before it is too dull to continue. I am thinking I may need to try to find some blades with less hook and see if that helps any. The blade cost is starting to make me think twice about what I cut.

[LeeB]

Try 4*. I used to use 9*, but I think 4* might work better.

[mdvaden]

How do you folks feel about "painting" the wound vs. "sealing" the wound?

I consider sealing to connote a thicker coat than painting.

Thin even coat, or thick seal?

[LeeB]

The forestry guy we had out told us that neither one really did any good. The tree would seal itself. If I remember he said paint was better than seal because seal would make a place to trap water and cause more chance for disease.

[mdvaden]

The forestry guy we had out told us that neither one really did any good. The tree would seal itself. If I remember he said paint was better than seal because seal would make a place to trap water and cause more chance for disease.

Yes, for most trees.

But for the disease control in oaks at the middle of the US - that's what I meant.

Except I understand that if pruning occurs in winter, no dressing is needed then at all.

I suppose a way of not doing it in winter, is if an addition is being added to a house, and a limb needs removal in summer - that kind of thing.