Will Coastal Oak survive severe pruning?

[ultrarunner]

My 91 year old friend hired someone to trim his Oak trees yesterday...

He has a hard time getting around and asked me to see how they look.

I was in shock when I saw them...

The guy hacked the crown off every mature tree... it was like drawing a line and cutting everything about the line... all the foliage is gone and what's left is a trunk with anywhere from 7 to 15 vertical limbs bare of foliage.

I would say the trees are anywhere from 25 to 40 years old... the property was cleared in 1956...

I went back and told him the tops are gone from each tree... he said he told the guy to top them.

Are these trees as good as dead or will they struggle on?

I think it's a real shame because they were on a hillside and very full and beautiful... over the years, his wife had them limbed up so they were easy to walk under.

I'm not a arborist... but, I think they were butchered.

 

[flusher]

My 91 year old friend hired someone to trim his Oak trees yesterday...

He has a hard time getting around and asked me to see how they look.

I was in shock when I saw them...

The guy hacked the crown off every mature tree... it was like drawing a line and cutting everything about the line... all the foliage is gone and what's left is a trunk with anywhere from 7 to 15 vertical limbs bare of foliage.

I would say the trees are anywhere from 25 to 40 years old... the property was cleared in 1956...

I went back and told him the tops are gone from each tree... he said he told the guy to top them.

Are these trees as good as dead or will they struggle on?

I think it's a real shame because they were on a hillside and very full and beautiful... over the years, his wife had them limbed up so they were easy to walk under.

I'm not a arborist... but, I think they were butchered.

Coast live oaks shouldn't be pruned, but if one is in your back yard, then you may be forced to cut it back. From what I read, light pruning is recommended. It sounds like your friend's oak was pollarded. That can't be good.

This UC Davis report may help.

http://ceventura.ucdavis.edu/newsletters/Vol_18_No3_November,_200429830.pdf

 

[ultrarunner]

Thank you very much for the link!

 

[Hughman]

for what its worth, I only prune mine to get misletoe out. I had one extremely infested tree that I pruned way back a couple years ago. I figure it would die but it was as good as dead anyway, so nothing to lose. It bounced back to life the next year. The best thing to do with oaks is leave them alone, but misletoe will suck the life out of them.

 

[ultrarunner]

There seems to be two camps on this.

Several have said the trees will be lucky to survive and an arborist, without looking at them said they will probably be fine...

Guess time will tell.

 

[LD1]

Any pics of them by chance?

 

[trailmaker]

I'm in the heart of Coast Live Oak country and I've seen trees survive this type of pruning, and worse. If the trees are already suffering from "sudden oak death" they may not make it.

 

[Redbug]

I also think the oak was pollarded. An arborist would not have done it like that. I think a tree that has been cut like that will look bad for quite a long time. That technique was common in years past, but times change and tree science has advanced since those days.

I think the tree will survive. They are very hardy. Look how many survive a hurricane. They have evolved in that type of environment. If it was another type of tree, it may die back.

 

[ultrarunner]

Still have not been back to snap a picture... 90% of the trees cut are oaks and the remaining 10% Monterrey Pine.

 

[ultrarunner]

Update... looks like the Oaks are making a comeback... all of the branch ends have about six inches of new growth...

The Monterey Pines show no sign of life... nothing at all.