Hi, my yard is mixed with live oaks and ashe juniper trees. For the last couple of years I've been considering cutting down the ashe trees to allow the oaks to thrive more. I believe the ashe trees are crowded out the oaks. Canopy on the oaks are not full and seem to be struggling a bit to produce a full canopy. Should I move forward with this plan? Any concerns with moving forward? I've circled the ashe trees in red that I'm considering cutting down.
Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks!
by CROSSTHEM0UT
4 Comments
It might appear to help superficially but the oaks have grown adapted to having the junipers there so removing them could have unintended consequences. Plus the junipers are not exactly low value trees either, slow growing, reliable, very hardy trees that I wouldn’t necessarily prioritize the oaks over. If everything is healthy and in good shape just leave it as is, there’s no reason to mess with it. Sure the oaks have grown differently due to their presence but that’s not a bad thing, they’d be far more crowded than this in a natural forest and still do well. Plus you want biodiversity in case an illness or something sweeps through your area.
In summery, no, keep it as is unless something changes
look into japanese and chinese gardens where old trees are highly desired, you can’t replace time in the landscape. This particular tree looks wind-swept and if you remove the some lower branches on those other trees can create somehting beautifull.
You are in a hot place given the ashe juniper. Shade is your friend during 100 degree days, however it comes.
Ashe juniper are resilient if you wanted to trim that 2nd one back a bit, but I wouldn’t touch the large one in the first photo, thats a beautiful tree.
Give em all compost and mulch every spring and fall to feed nutrients and lock in moisture and they will all thrive together.
Central Texas Arborist of 15 years here.
If you really want to promote the Live Oaks, then removing the Ashei Juniper will definitely help them receive more light and have more room to grow.
If you are going to do this, I definitely recommend installing a mulch bed over the root zones of the Live Oaks and beginning watering the Live Oaks consistently, especially in the beginning.
The Junipers are likely shading the oaks and drastically reducing their water needs. If you just remove the junipers without providing supplemental water, the Live Oaks may flash and die.