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Tree Care Calendar for Placerville
Here's the year in Placerville from a tree's point of view. Something here you'd like a pro to check? Phone (530) 240-2208 and a local visit gets arranged.
Every rule below comes from UC or the arborist group, named next to it. Your own tree may need something different, and a pro can tell you.
The quick table
| Tree | Best time to prune | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Black, valley and blue oaks | Winter | Summer |
| Interior live and canyon oaks | Summer | Winter |
| Pines | Mid-October to January | February to mid-October |
| Apples, pears, plums, peaches | Winter, with a light summer trim | None listed |
| Apricots and cherries | July and August | Fall through spring |
| Grapevines | February on, late in dormancy | Early in winter |
| Elms | Between October and February | March through September |
| Most shade trees | Before the spring flush | Heavy cuts right after it |
Sources: UC Master Gardeners oak talk (2020) and fruit tree handout; UC IPM bark beetle and Eutypa dieback guides; ISA "Pruning Mature Trees".
Winter: December to February
For many trees this is the main event. With the leaves gone, you can actually see how the branches are put together.
Oaks that lose their leaves get their trim now, per the UC Master Gardener talk. Dormant fruit trees get their main cut, per the UC fruit handout. Mistletoe is easy to spot too, since the green clumps stand out on bare limbs.
Pine work fits in early winter. By February UC says to stop.
December, January and February are wet. Placerville averages about 10 rainy days in each of those months. Wet, heavy limbs and soggy ground are a good reason to have weak branches looked at before the storms.
Spring: March to May
Trees push out new leaves now. Right after that flush, go easy on cutting live wood, the arborist group advises, and especially so on a struggling tree. It has just burned through a lot of stored energy.
Early spring cuts on maples and birches leave sticky sap trails down the bark. The arborist group shrugs that off as of little consequence.
Leave elms alone from March on. UC says not to prune them from March to September.
A soggy late spring can also coat blue oaks in powdery mildew, turning them pale. The Master Gardener talk's verdict is to leave it be.
Summer: June to August
Hot and dry. July and August average almost no rain in Placerville, and the town gets around 65.7 days a year at 90 degrees or more.
Summer is when interior live oaks and other evergreen oaks get their cuts. Apricots and cherries get pruned in July and August, so the cuts can close before the rain brings Eutypa spores. Fruit trees also get their light summer trim to hold back growth.
Keep an eye on big oaks for summer branch drop. Limbs can give way on hot, still days, the Master Gardener talk warns, even ones that seem healthy.
In a drought, water stressed trees deeply about twice a month, UC says. Beetles love a thirsty pine.
Fall: September to November
From mid-October, pines can be pruned again. Broadleaf mistletoe berries show up from about October to December, UC says, so it's a good time to plan mistletoe cuts before birds spread more seed.
Fall rains bring Eutypa season back. Hold off on apricots and cherries until next July.
Brush pile left over from summer? When grants allow, the Fire Safe Council chips for free, twice a year, with the count resetting every January 1.
Any time of year
Clearing out weak, sick or dead limbs is fine in pretty much any month, per the arborist group, and the tree barely notices. A cracked limb hanging over the house shouldn't wait for its proper season anyway. Ring (530) 240-2208 and someone will come take a look.
More: all trimming jobs, oak pruning, fruit tree pruning, pines and bark beetles.