It didn’t take long for new buds to appear after dramatically pruning some coast live oaks last month (see Oaks for details). Here’s a photo of new bud development ten days after cutback.
Signs of new growth on Coast live oak – 8″
Close up of new buds
When new buds appear in places where they’re not wanted, it’s best to remove them sooner rather than later to prevent more callus from forming on the trunk (more on this here).
I didn’t get to this fast enough this year – here’s the same oak one month after cutback.
One month after cutback – lots of new growth
The longest shoots are the ones that first emerged on the lower half of the trunk – the one spot where I don’t want new shoots. The buds that I want are higher up on the top half of the tree.
Buds forming along a branch collar
New growth on the top half of the tree
I removed the shoots on the lower section of the trunk with scissors and left most of the upper shoots alone. I’ll check the tree again in a few weeks and remove any new shoots that appear on the lower part of the tree.
After removing lower shoots
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