Waiting until the leaves drop in fall is a rule of thumb for pruning shade trees, mainly because you can see bare limbs better, and the job is less “messy” without leaves attached to the cut branches.

Q: The leaves on my newly planted oak tree have numerous holes, and the edges of the leaf are missing. I do not see any insects, but I am worried about the tree. Most of the tree is like this. A: Oaks ...

Answer: It was normal this summer. Mildew and other fungal diseases afflicted various types of trees because of excessive rains. Some trees lost 20 to 30 percent of their leaves in late July and ...