Q: We have a neighbor with an overgrown tree. We’ve tried everything to get her to trim it. She won’t do it, and it drops debris on our lawn and makes a mess of our house. What are our options? — Greg ...

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.

The fallen leaves and cool temperatures are all signs it’s safe to prune oak trees in Michigan. Oak trees can be infected by the oak wilt fungus if they’re pruned anytime between April 15 through July ...