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 ...