The beloved Oak & the notable Elm, slow growing, long lived, and their silhouettes breathtakingly majestic but... these masterpieces come with nasty little secrets!
Our oaks & elms are susceptible to a couple of awful diseases called Oak Wilt & Dutch Elm Disease. The oaks & elms are particularly vulnerable when they have been trimmed before their dormant season or have sustained damage. 
The reason for this is: when a non-dormant oak or elm tree has been trimmed or cut, the tree bleeds sap. Just like us but sweeter!
The sweet wetness of the sap attracts tiny beetles that carry the fungal spores they picked up from other infected trees, dead logs, rotting vegetables, and other debris, and deposits the spores into an open wound!
Thus the disease spores have entered the tree, almost like the way our open wounds or cuts get infected!
Then, the bad part- the trees active sap stream carries the spores throughout the tree. Branches begin to dye within months, and if the infestations are severe enough, even a mature oak or elm tree may be dead within two years!
The time to trim your oaks & elms are when the trees are dormant. Generally this is between October and February. The logic behind this being that if the sap is not running in the tree because it is dormant, the beetle is inactive due to dormancy and is not interested in the cuts!
Call a professional and only prune when the tree is dormant to eliminate the spread of this vicious fungus before we lose all of our beloved old oak trees and our gorgeous elms in Kansas City.
