Urban Forestry — Abstract of Paper


To Prune or Not to Prune: Responses of Coast Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia) to Canopy Retention During Transplanting
Rosi Dagit¹ and A. James Downer²


A total of 62 Coast Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia) were monitored since they were initially boxed for transplantation in 1993. At that time, only branches injured during the moving process and deadwood were removed, leaving the entire canopy intact. This was a departure from the usual transplanting methodology that traditionally removes up to 70 percent of the canopy in order to compensate for the massive root loss incurred during boxing. To date, survival of non-pruned trees has exceeded that of a cohort of 25 transplanted oaks that received the standard canopy reduction. A discussion of the impacts of pruning and transplanting on diameter growth, canopy condition and overall health and vigor of the transplanted oak trees is provided.