Because of oak wilt disease I’d avoid pruning them. Otherwise I know of no other caveats.

tj

Are they pines? Prune away. They'll look a lot neater and create fewer hazards.

Mixture of pines, oak and other.

Best to prune dead branches or leave them?

I've heard it both ways and perhaps it's very variety dependent.

===>> absolutely wrong on 2 levels ...

ALWAYS prune off dead stuff.. properly ... so the live tree can 'heal'.. encapsulate the pruning wound ....

and its not species dependent ...

and it applies to every plant in the universe.. not just trees .. same with shrubs... perennials.. etc ...

and yes.. there can be certain PROPER pruning time ... depending on species and location ...

ken

ps: and whoever told you such should be removed from your list of friends who know what the heck they are talking about ... maybe they are friends who know other things or entertain you for other reasons.. but they have no real plant knowledge ...

btw ... is that a bike path.. or a partially leaf-covered driveway ...

it looks like the trees were severely impacted when the driveway was plowed through native growth.. and then heavy machines were used to lay down asphalt ... you may lose all the trees.. in tree time....

though i suppose your driveway contractor said otherwise ...

ken

If you can stand on the ground and cut off dead wood without opening any sap running wounds, then the oaks would be safe. The issue would be setting up ladders and/or climbing that might break even small branches causing sap to drip. Heck, even MSU (Moo U to Ken) says to avoid weed whackers around them. If you wait a month or two this would all be moot anyway.

tj

There is one reason not to trim dead branches that has nothing to do with appearance health or the tree.

While I cut dead branches when I find them, If there is a dead tree or branch that will not be a problem to the tree I leave it. The reason is woodpeckers. Like any other species you need to provide a habitat to get them on to your property. Dead trees and branches are part of a woodpecker habitat.

We have about a half dozen types of woodpeckers on our property including the pileated woodpecker. They are so primitive looking and unique it is worth having a couple of dead trees standing around. The smaller one are also interesting.

That's an 8.5' wide driveway. It's been there since at least 1882. Not sure when it was first paved. We cut out the old asphalt last year and repaved after our new house was finished so a lot of heavy trucks on it the previous two years. Not much we could do other than hire a helicopter and the environmental impact of that would have been far worse.

Agree about leaving dead wood for the woodpeckers! For the most part we're leaving the woods, other than by the driveway, to themselves except for goats removing Buckthorn.

I would think, on my non-professional side of my brain, that removing the dead branches would help discourage the spread, or speed, of forest fires if they would occur in your area; giving only green wood to feed the fire.

Prune away.