Shoutout to the guy who showed me what 12 months of no pruning does to a mature oak

Came back to a job site in Raleigh where I did a light trim last year and the whole crown had gone to crap with crossing branches and deadwood. Has anyone else seen how fast a tree can fall apart when you skip that annual cleanup?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher9432d ago

Was it already showing signs of trouble before you walked away? Or did the rapid decline totally blindside you?

elliot_patel2d ago

Tbh I'm kind of skeptical that a tree can fall apart in 12 months unless it was already messed up. Jenny's point about oaks being fine with just a good trim makes sense to me. Honestly it sounds like a lot of panic over something that might just need a proper pruning and a bit of patience. Ngl seems like people get dramatic about trees sometimes like it's not a big deal if it's not already dying. I'd want to see some real evidence of that rapid decline before I'd buy it.

burns.jenny2d ago

Most oaks only need a good structural trim every 3-5 years if they were set up right young. I've seen trees that looked rough after one year bounce back fine with a proper pruning. Twelve months without trimming is not that long for a mature oak unless it had major issues already.