The basic steps of branch development on coast live oak are simple: stimulate new shoots, shape the shoots with wire, cut back to two or three buds in fall.
Following these steps can yield secondary branches in less than one year. Here are photos of each step.
February 2019
The coast live oak above is growing well, but the branch structure is poor. It’s a good time to reduce the branches.
After cutback
Four months later, the tree has produced lots of new branches. It’s now time to wire branches that will be part of the final design and remove the rest.
June 2019
After cutback and wiring
I wanted to leave the branches relatively long so they would continue to thicken. Here’s the tree four months later.
October 2019
I began the work this fall by reducing the longest shoots to make it easier to visualize the desired silhouette.
After initial cutback
The next step was to wire the small shoots and remove shoots that won’t be part of the final design.
After wiring – 19″
If you compare the above photo with the after photo in February, you’ll notice that the only change is the 1″ – 2″ of new growth at the end of each branch. I plan to follow the same approach for the next several years until the branch density and crown size suggest a more mature silhouette.
Along the way, I expect to settle on a front. In the photo below, you can see that the back of the tree is another good candidate for the front.
Alternative front
I don’t expect the tree to grow much, if at all, before spring, so the main task now is to water carefully until repotting time in January.
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Keith R Jarvis says
I like the front with the hollow better. Just a comment.
Mark says
Great information, thank you.
How long do you find that you have to leave the wire on for the branch to set?
Jonas Dupuich says
Good question Mark. Fast growing branches can set in a matter of weeks, while slowly growing branches can bounce back after a year. I think the wire on this tree was in place for about 10 weeks.
Tony says
Looks great!…aggressive pruning of very healthy oaks seems to give great results!
Jim Scott says
I’m with Keith…I like the hollow in the front.
Is the Coast Live Oak usually such a vigorous grower? I live in Kennesaw, Ga and am wondering if it would do well here…
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks for the note Jim! I’d guess live oak would do well in Georgia as they love heat, though it may need protection in winter. If others are growing live oaks in the area, I’d love to hear about it.
As for the species’ vigor, live oaks are highly advantageous growers. If they are happy with their conditions, they grow vigorously. If they’re not, they can take a break for up to 2-3 years without putting on much growth before they get going again.