Q: I have an 8-year-old oak tree. It looks like it has a girdling root. Should we cut through the root in two places so it can be removed, or should we leave well enough alone. A: Definitely trim and ...

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.