Too late to prune?

[NickDanger]

I've got some pittisporum that need it bad. I didn't notice it until today.

 

[Mrmyke709]

Go for it.
No more Oak pruning, though.

 

[Brisketexan]

You're getting old, Nick. So it's never a bad time for prunes.

 

[NickDanger]

You have no idea how apropos that was.

 

[pmg]

Man, I was going to make an old/prune joke.

 

[grinder]

I don't think there's ever a "wrong" time to prune, but some times of year are better than others. FWIW, I did some pruning this weekend, but that was on account of the hail damage

.

 

[TheRealBizHorn]

Like Myke said, there really aren't "bad" times to prune for trees except for oaks susceptible to oak wilt. At least that holds true for the Austin area. Evergreen shrubs like pittosporum should be fine - but the longer you wait you run the risk of reducing the new spring growth as you prune.

 

[SATX Horn]

I did some massive pruning on 2 large oaks in my front yard last week, was that not a good idea? When is the best time to do it?

 

[NickDanger]

If you spray each cut immediately after cutting, theoretically you can prune an oak 365 days a year. A shrub that has spring growth is another matter as I understand it. I obviously am no expert.

I don't have any spring growth on my dwarf pitts, yet. They have gotten way out of hand and have a lot of dead in them. Unless someone tells me I can cut them WAY back, I think I'm going to have to start over. These "dwarfs" are very tall and very wide and have obstructed the pool walk. When the dead stuff is removed they are looking very lopsided.

 

[TheRealBizHorn]

What kind of oaks do you have? Red oaks are at risk of oak wilt. The official advice is to never prune oaks in the spring (2/1-6/1). Best time is after a freeze or in July through September, when fungus-carrying beetles are less prevalent.

Oak Wilt - City of Austin

 

[NickDanger]

I was buying some Medina about an hour ago and there happened to be a county extension agent in the store and I asked him about pruning some dead limbs out of my live oaks and he said it was OK as long as I sprayed upon cutting. He also said that he doesn't recommend letting your average tree trimmer in your yard now as they rarely spray anything but the big cuts in his experience.

I'm only going to make about a half dozen cuts. Not really pruning.