Hey y’all. I know next to nothing about this subject but I figured there was a subreddit for arborists so here I am. I bought a property in south central Ohio and it has a bunch of trees but a lot of them don’t look so hot. I figure I’ll bug y’all one tree at a time. I think this first one is a Chinquapin oak. Why does it look like a giant bush? I think it has a fungal infection too? Is it enough to just get in there, trim all of the branches off below eight feet or so and clear out anything that isn’t the tree? Thanks in advance.
by GimmeLibertee
10 Comments
Not an arborist. Looks like leaf spot, which is a minor fungal issue that is not meaningfully harmful to the tree. You can prune lower branches to develop a more lollipop shape, but do so in late fall/early winter to reduce likelihood of borer attacks and oak wilt disease.
Leaf spot, purely cosmetic disease that has no impact on the tree, often seen in fall after all the wear and tear of the year
Pin oak
Not an arborist. It’s probably that shape because nothing has eaten its branches or cut them off. And it had plenty of sunlight all around, so branches could grow from any height on the trunk and get light.
Just leave the tree alone dude
Hi, I’m a professional arborist in central Ohio. The tree looks really healthy overall. It wouldn’t hurt to trim it up off the ground and maybe thin it out a little to allow more airflow, especially near the bottom where it looks pretty dense. That will help with the disease issues.
Ugh I have two pin oaks on the home I bought a year ago and the branches are trimmed up to like 40 feet. I would LOVE if they looked like this. The trees are at least 80 ft tall.
Looks like a thriving Pin Oak. Im not a professional. Maybe minor fungal spots. Just cosmetic tbh. You could raise the lower 6 feet or so. Make sure its in the winter when its dormant to reduce pest and disease risk. Id reccomend if you do raise it. Add some mutch around the tree as the lower branches in a way has worked as a moisture holder around the tree so it slows moisture down during droughts
You can prune the lower branches on the pin oak. BUT do it in the winter! Oaks in the red oak clade are highly susceptible to oak wilt. Oak wilt is spread by a bug active in the warm months.
Certified climbing arborist here. Oak looks awesome. I’d love to have a tree like that with plenty of surrounding space to get big. A touch of anthracnose on the leaves. Not a big deal. Common with the Fall weather and rain. Copper fungicide could be something to use but you’d need a high pressure application to reach the upper canopy. Minor aesthetic deficiency, but it won’t hurt the tree.
Whatever you can stand to leave for clearance with the lower limbs, I would. The branches help the tree to develop taper. As he continues to get taller, you can slowly continue lifting lower branches. We call that the “live crown ratio” in the tree game. Ideally, anything around 70 percent of green canopy to the remaining trunk is what you want. Good luck.