Hi all,

Looking for advice about pruning a mature pin oak. The tree is approx. 50-60 ft high and has a trunk that is about 2 ft in diameter at the base. The problem is that the tree at some point developed multiple leaders - three actually. Where they split from the main trunk they are joined at very narrow crotch angles. One of them appears to be dominant and has grown above the other two.

Do I just let the tree continue to develop naturally or do I prune off the other two leaders and risk damaging the tree? If I had to prune the other two leaders, I would say that they are approx. 6-8 inches wide where they attach to the trunk at the branch collar. I am not sure if this makes them too big to prune?

I've read that you shoudl always encourage the growth of a single leader but whether it was by accident or by natural means, this oak has several leaders.

We really love the tree and want to ensure its fitness. Any suggestions?

You could remove part of those two leaders down to a lower lateral and make them co-dominant. I don't like making large cuts on mature trees unless I have to. I feel like that would be better than wounding this tree close to the main stem where the decay will travel. I don't know if I'm right or wrong on this, but hopefully it will prompt a reply from a more knowledgeable source. I would of spoken sooner but I'm only here every blue moon or theres no time after my studies. Good luck.