Pruning live oaks in Austin during August vs December - completely different results

I trimmed a live oak in early August last year and the regrowth was insane, all these water sprouts shooting up everywhere. Then I did the same tree in late December after a freeze and the cuts healed smooth with hardly any suckers. My buddy in San Antonio swears by summer pruning for stronger branch angles but I think the shock is worse. Has anyone else seen a big difference in how live oaks respond depending on the month you cut them?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan54523d ago

Wait, for real? I used to be all about summer pruning too but this year I tried December on my oaks and holy crap the difference was night and day. The cuts look way cleaner and I barely had any of those crazy water sprouts popping up.

patricia_wells23d ago

Blew my mind when I first tried winter pruning too lol. I remember standing out there in my coat thinking why didn't anyone tell me about this sooner.