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Old timer told me to stop pruning oaks in summer. I didn't listen.
A guy with 40 years in the biz told me at a job in Nashville last July to never cut oaks when it's hot. I figured he was just being old school and kept trimming a big red oak during a heat wave. Within 2 weeks, oak wilt showed up and I had to remove the whole tree. Lost a $1,200 client because of it. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?
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terry_carter1511d ago
Used to think it was just old guys being dramatic until I saw a neighbor's oak die the same way. Pretty humbling to watch a healthy tree drop dead from a summer cut. Definitely changed my mind about pushing back on advice from people who've been doing this longer than I've been alive.
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avery_lopez11d ago
Humbling is the right word @terry_carter15. Watched a buddy lose a huge maple he trimmed in July, it was gone by spring. Old heads definitely earned that wisdom.
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The real issue nobody talks about is how summer pruning stresses the tree's immune system right when beetles are most active. Those beetles carry the oak wilt spores from infected trees, and a fresh wound in July is basically an open door for them. A winter cut gives the tree months to seal itself off before the bugs come out in force.
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