Oak trees are known for growing tall and mighty, so you can count on trimming them at some point. But when is the best time to trim oak trees? If you do it outside of the optimal tree trimming time, you risk harming the trees or making them succumb to diseases. It’s important to know when to do it — which is in winter.
The leading tree service company in Lakeland, FL, Central Florida Tree Care, can handle seasonal oak tree trimming for you so you don’t have to worry about getting the timing right.
Winter Tree Maintenance Is Best for Oaks
You may not think of winter as the best time for landscaping, but dormant season pruning is the safer route for oak trees since they go dormant and don’t wake up until spring. During this time, their sap travels from the ends of branches and back into the center of the tree. You can think of sap like a tree’s blood. Winter is the safest time to avoid injuring them and getting sap everywhere.
The best time for oak care is in the middle of winter when the trees have lost all their leaves and have been dormant for at least a few weeks. That’s how you’ll know the tree is asleep and is safe to prune. Understanding the crown cleaning and thinning benefits during this season can also help promote better tree health and growth while minimizing the risk of injury to the tree.
Don’t Trim Oak Trees in Summer
Summer is the worst oak tree pruning season because trees, pests, and diseases are awake. If you trim a tree in summer, the wound you leave behind will have sap and may attract pests. If the pests carry diseases, the likelihood of the tree becoming infected is great since it has an open wound.
Oak trees are highly susceptible to oak wilt, a fungal disease that can kill off oak trees no matter how mighty and old they are. Bark beetles spread the disease and it can pass between trees if their roots or branches touch each other. It can be difficult to control if you have several oak trees on your property, so keep them safe by waiting until winter to trim.
Avoid Trimming in Spring
Spring is also a bad time to trim oak trees since this is the time of year when the trees wake up and begin growing. Removing the limbs they’re actively trying to grow can stress the tree and cause its health to decline. It’s best to wait for when the tree stops growing in late fall or early winter.
Bark beetles become active in spring as well, so while they’re predominantly a summer concern, they can still be a pest in the spring and start spreading diseases before your trees have a chance to flourish.
Call Central Florida Tree Care Today
If you’re wondering when the best time to trim oak trees is in Lakeland, FL, Central Florida Tree Care can help. We can assess tree health as part of our tree services and trim your oak trees for you to keep them healthy. Give us a call today at (863) 670-7375 to schedule us for tree trimming.
