I assume you are talking about California live oaks? If so, they rarely require any pruning. And now is not the time to do so anyway.

The trees are still just babies and need time to grow into themselves. Trunk thickening is a function of time, not pruning. And will be hastened by removing the stakes and allowing the trees to flex with the wind (stakes should not be in place for longer than in year, anyway).

If you could post close ups of the individual trees, we might be able to advise if any structural adjustments are necessary.

Thanks for the quick reply and I believe they are Southern live oaks (Quercus Virginiana) but I could be wrong.

I attached better pictures this time.

I fear that if I take the stakes away, the trees are just going to flop over because they are to skinny, tall and top heavy. Also, I do plan on waiting till this winter to perform any thinning/pruning, just wanted to get some advice sooner rather than later so I will be ready to go come this winter. A friend of mine told me to basically cut the tops of the trees off to make the trunk stronger, but I am afraid this will do more harm than good. Any other suggestions? and thanks again for the help! :)

Apparently you bought ones that were somehow grown in such a way that they were quite spindly in the first place. To the extent that two years later they still have thin trunks.

And - yes - topping them will not make the trunks thicker. It will cause undesirable forking.

I don't know what you can do at this point except keep them supported until they become stiffer on their own. I do know that as a general policy they should be mulched. Tests using controls have shown that mulching of new plantings of woody plants promotes significantly better establishment and initial growth.

Southern live oaks seem a very strange choice for Fresno when native live oaks abound! I'd want to confirm ID.

After 2 years in the ground, the trees should have developed a root system adequate to keep themselves stable. They are not top heavy at all - just tall and wispy. The ability to freely flex with the wind (and age) is what develops trunk girth, not any type of pruning. And your friend is way off in his advice - topping a live oak is a fast track to a dead tree!!

Read up on these trees before you do anything. 9 out of 10 websites will tell you not do any pruning at all or just structural pruning at most, which I do not see to be necessary based on the photos provided. And if you do need to prune, July through October is the dormant period for CA live oaks and the recommended pruning time, removing no more than 10% of the green growth at a time.

Those are some major skinny oak trees. DO NOT top the trees. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The best way to make them more structurally sound is to free them from bondage. They need to flex and move in the wind to form strong trunks. There isn't enough tree there yet for them to blow over or get uprooted. The best thing you can do for them is give them extra water. If you do mulch, DO NOT pile mulch around the trunk.

PS. Free the magnolias while you are at it.

No topping, no trimming, remove the stakes, no mulch volcanoes...

Thanks for the information!. Everyone is telling me to free them. I feel like I will have some Dr Suess trees for a while, but I trust the consensus. Can I ask: Do the trees straighten out over time? even if they flop over when I loosen the straps

Tbh I’ve never seen live oak saplings that tall and skinny. I just planted two in my front yard but they are three inch caliper...

You could try a different kind of staking. When I stake a tree, I don't tie it tightly but use something that has some stretch. Use 3 or 4 stakes like the ones you have and put them a short distance out from the trunk (1-1/2 ft. or so

The picture below I used pretty short stakes because that's it's what I had. Your trees are taller and more spindly so you'll want to put the 'ties' higher up.

The idea is to put the elastic 'ties' opposite to each other, so they pull against each other when the tree sways and that's what you want, some movement when the wind blows. Over time this causes the trunk to strengthen itself.

The ties are those cheap nylon knee high stockings you get 10 for a dollar. They are strong, very stretchable and won't hurt the tree. You can adjust the tension so the tree can only go so far no matter what direction it decides to go.

General shape and coloring of Quercus virginiana leaves is visible in the pictures provided. The next step in pursuing this aspect would be to post closer views.

Our trees from our tree replacement plan are almost two years old now. I have no plans to take the stakes out though. Maybe next year.

First off thank you everybody who has replied, I really appreciate it. And Bill_minn_3b, I think I am going to take your advice and keep the stakes in for now and apply very loose and opposing forces to provide support while still allowing the trunk to strengthen by swaying a little. The reason being is because the first picture down below is what happened when I removed the support completely.

To Hallett & Co. I purchased these at a very reputable nursery in town and just figured these are what 15 gallon live oaks looked like. Maybe I just got lucky with how skinny and scrawny they are ( hint of sarcasm). Also I should note that I did leave the stake that was tied to the trunk, from the nursery, on for a year which probably wasn't the best idea.

And finally for embothrium, the next two pictures below are close ups to show the leaves a little bit better. If they are southern live oaks or california live oaks, I would appreciate anyone's opinion.

Those are some major skinny oak trees. Let them wiggle in bondage as much as possible. Extra water will help. How and why is the entire ground around these trees dry dirt two years after they were planted?

Christopher C Nc, they are skinny but again I didnt know if this was normal or not. I am quickly finding out, it is not normal. Haha. Also in regards to the yard, the ground is very good as it used to be farm land but when I purchased this house, the yard was a mess (filled with weeds and everything else that comes with it). I first planted trees as I figured they would take the longest to grow. This past winter I put in irrigation, leveled the yard, and now I am waiting for it to get warm enough to plant bermuda seed along the sides of my yard, put mulch in long strips to cover the area around the trees, and in between the trees I am thinking a walk way. Long story short it is a work in progress.

New growth is flexible and becomes firmer and woody as it ages. Whatever shape the trunk firms up in is going to be its permanent shape. I wouldn't be letting the trunk do a U-turn. Stake it so that it's straight. If it would not stand straight after a year of staking, I'm afraid I disagree with my colleagues, and would have to reduce the height. The worry about causing "forking" is overblown, as any portion of said fork not desired can later be removed. Just keep up with it as it grows, maintaining a single trunk all the way to the permanent canopy, watching out for upward turning branches that want to compete with the trunk, and remove or head them back so that they can't.

I can't imagine having bare dirt around the base of those trees is doing them any good. 2-3" of wood mulch helps retain soil moisture and keeps the sun from 'baking' the dirt and raising temperatures far above what healthy for the roots. Keep the mulch a few inches from the trunk and don't pile it up against the trunk.

Let the branches grow! Cutting a few feet off the top will not help the top heaviness to any extent. The tree will only put out more forks and side growth to make up for the loss and the tree will remain top heavy.

Leave what side growth is already there, this aids in the trunk putting on more girth.

As time goes on you can do some structure pruning but I would wait with that until things settle down.

I am more than just a little surprised that a local nursery would recommend and sell southern live oaks when there are at least 3 species of evergreen or live oaks native to CA. And much better adapted to the rather unique CA climate compared to their southeastern cousins!!

Regardless of species, topping or reducing the height of any tree is NEVER recommended by any trained arborist for a variety of reasons. And more importantly, it will not achieve the results you expect it to wrt trunk girth development.

Ken_adrian, thanks for the advice and loved the youtube link. In hindsight I wouldn't have bought these trees as well. Also I realized I have been saying 15 gallon trees. These were 5 gallon trees when planted. As a novice, when I went to the nursery I am sure I felt that bigger or taller was better. Couldn't have been more wrong. haha

Bill_minn_3b, I will go to the store today to put mulch around the trees just as you have suggested. I think the trees will appreciate that. Also thanks for the tip about not trimming the side growth. I was tempted but if it may aide in the strengthening of the trunk, I will give it a shot.

Gardengal48, It is strange that this was the tree suggested and in such 'Not so Good' shape. Especially after talking to everyone, I feel kinda stupid for picking such tall and skinny trees, but live and learn. And as tempted as I am to trim some branches from the upper area to lessen the top load. I will refrain. I will attempt to exercise a little more patience, loosen the ties as much as the tree allows, and then progressively loosen the constraints until the trees doesn't need them anymore. At least that is my plan and we will see how it goes.

I don't recommend anything less than 45 GALLON Live Oak because the smaller ones just take to long to start growing above the ground and fail too ofen.

I think people would be surprised how fast a live oak grows from an acorn ... with virtually no trouble at all.

These trees have had no trouble growing it's that they have been grown improperly then staked improperly. I'll agree, it's a lot easier and less time to do it right in the first place. :o)