Winter is an ideal time to prune or remove oak trees, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Now through February, oaks can be pruned or cut without risk of spreading oak wilt. Oak wilt is an invasive fungal disease deadly to all the state’s oak species.
“Oak wilt is very expensive to treat, but prevention is often effective and much less costly — even free,” said Brian Schwingle, a DNR forest health program consultant. “One of the best ways to help protect oaks is to do necessary pruning or cutting in winter, which is the safest season to avoid risk of infection.”
The disease is more common in east-central and southeast Minnesota, but it is expanding north and west.
It’s spread by sap-feeding beetles that carry spores from infected trees to fresh wounds of healthy trees.
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