Cedar Park Officials Encourage Tree Trimming To Avoid Oak Wilt

CEDAR PARK, TX — Cedar Park officials are encouraging residents to prune their own trees to avoid having city crews do the trimming for them to deter oak wilt.

"With springtime well over, now is a particular good time to trim trees," city officials wrote in an advisory "This is because beetles that help propagate oak wilt, the most destructive disease affecting live oaks and red oaks in Central Texas, slow their activity between July and January."

Oak wilt is caused by the fungus Ceratyocystitis fagecearum, which is easily spread when beetles carrying the fungal spores from infected red oaks to fresh, open wounds on healthy oaks, city officials explained. For this reason, the city discourages residents from trimming oak trees between Feb. 1 and June 30, when the beetles are particularly active, unless absolutely necessary.

Additionally, the city encourages fresh tree wounds to be sealed with a tree wound dressing or latex paint and for tree pruning tools to be cleaned with a 10 percent bleach solution or Lysol at all times of the year, according to the advisory. City of Cedar Park work crews are also taking advantage of this time of year to trim trees, bushes, and other vegetation along streets and sidewalks to relieve vehicle and pedestrian obstruction, which is a safety hazard, officials said.

According to city ordinance, tree branches should hang no less than eight feet above the sidewalk, and at least 14 feet over the street.

"The city encourages residents to do their own tree trimming so that trees appear even and meet owners’ aesthetic standards," officials wrote. "If trees are not trimmed according to required dimensions the city may remove encroaching tree branches in order to prevent vehicle and vehicle obstruction. However, the city crews trim at a vertical plane adjacent to the apparent property line – which could result in trees appearing 'lopsided.' "

Anyone wishing to report non-compliant trees to the city may do so by using the CPConnect mobile application or by logging onto the city’s Report a Problem web page at www.cedarparktexas.gov/reportaproblem. For a resource guide on dealing with oak wilt, click here.

>>> Century oak tree at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas, via Wikimedia Commons