We know you care about your yard, and especially your trees, so we thought we would pass along… It’s tree-trimming season!
Across Central Texas, HOAs, municipalities, and well-meaning neighbors will yell at you if you trim oaks in the spring. Why? Because February-June has the highest likelihood of spreading oak wilt. Now that it is July, it is officially OPEN SEASON.
Why trim your live oak trees in Austin?
- Health: broken / crossed limbs are often entry points for disease.
- Safety: you don’t want any big branches falling on your dog or your neighbor’s new Cybertruck.
- Aesthetics: Trimmed trees look better.
- Cool factor: It’s scientifically proven that your neighbors will think you are at least 14% cooler if they see you trimming your trees.
Oak wilt FAQ
For obvious and well-founded reasons, many people are wary of oak wilt. We get a lot of questions so here is what you need to know.
Oak wilt is a fungal disease that affects oak trees. It spreads through interconnected roots and sap-feeding beetles.
It can kill oaks (even mature oaks).
Yes. It is all over central Texas. It’s one of the most destructive tree diseases in the area. I have it in my neighborhood right now.
– Leaf discoloration. Initially, the disease causes leaves to turn a light green or yellow color around the outer edges while the veins remain dark green. As the disease progresses, the leaves will wilt and eventually fall off the tree.
– Leaves with brown veins
– Defoliation – oaks lose their leaves naturally, but oak wilt will cause excessive defoliation and decreased regrowth.
Depends – it isn’t overnight. In most cases, it will take years. And it can be slowed with proper care. Think about a non-curable disease in humans. Sometimes it will come hard and fast, but many times you can treat and prolong the process. It is highly dependent on the severity of the disease and the original age and health of the tree.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care. We don’t do the care — we leave that to tree care companies. We do prevention.
– Know what it looks like. Avoid trimming those trees. Our team is trained to identify oak wilt and avoid it.
– Clean blades between properties – we clean all our equipment regularly to prevent accidental spread between properties
– Paint cuts – Even during low risk seasons, it is important to paint (we use a specially designed tar-like substance) the larger cuts. The rule of thumb: paint any cut larger than the width of your thumb.
We know a lot about oak wilt. But I wouldn’t call us experts. If you have a question about your trees — feel free to send us a picture or question and we will do our best. In some cases, we will refer you on to the oak wilt big dogs.