Oak Galls in Trees

Another point of conversation at our recent subdivision meeting was that of galls found in trees. Our area has seen an infestation of the tiny wasps which produce these galls. While galls are not pretty, they will not usually destroy a tree unless there is a particularly large infestation. Smaller trees may be pruned in winter, and those affected branches and leaves destroyed by fire to limit wasp reproduction. However not much can be done to limit the spread in especially large trees, such as the many older oaks found throughout Brookdale.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has an information page on these and other galls with some ideas for tree support, such as fertilizer which may ease distress in particularly infested trees. That information is available here: "Gouty, horned and other twig galls."