English Oak

[Damian Bee]

Hi there,

I have 1 English Oak, it is looking alright.
Is it an OK time of year to defoliate and shorten some shoots or is it too late?
The aim is to get finer branching and better Autumn colour.
Melbourne is predicted to have a warmer than usual Autumn or March April at least.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[kcpoole]

Probably a little late in Melb
In sydney I would but you will start to get too cool for new growth soon

Ken

[Damian Bee]

Thanks KC, You are a Legend. Saves my itchy trimming finger for something else
What I thought was a warm Autumn looks to be turning out to be a showery mid to low 20s affair anyway
There is always next year (or later this year).

[dragon]

damian
the old english oak (quercus robur) because they are decidious you are better of waiting untill after winter
the new leave will appear in spring and let it sit for about a month after the leaves have reached full
size then defoliate and root pruning done at late winter do you have a picture of the tree
whats the size of it and how old is it and has the main tap root been removed if not do that in winter to get a good size root spread
and when defoliation is due you can start doing that around second month of spring
cheers dean
PS i have 10 old english oak and 1 is verigated enjoy

[Ash Barns]

Damian I defoliate deciduous trees down here between Christmas and New Year. That way it is easy to remember. My student was horrified when I carried this out on an English Oak at that time and was surprised two weeks later to find it covered in nice fresh little leaves.