diana_west27•17d agoProlific Poster

Used to top all my client's oaks in July until that one in Austin split right down the middle during a storm

Started doing structural pruning in late winter instead after I saw the crack run 15 feet from a bad cut, anyone else dealt with a topping fail that changed your whole approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant.felix17d ago

Blames the tool for what's really a timing problem.

bettyroberts16d ago

@grant.felix how is late summer topping not a timing problem itself?

beth_reed17d ago

Late summer topping has ALWAYS worked fine for me and I've been doing it for 22 years. That oak split was probably already weak or planted wrong to begin with, not the pruning. Switching to winter pruning just means you're dealing with more decay and slower healing since the tree can't respond right away.