Nodules on My Live Oak

I have been training this live oak for about ten years. About a month ago, for the first time, all these little nodules showed up. They are all over the tree mostly on two year old branches. Can you give me some insight on what they are and what to do about them?

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Those are galls, sometimes caused when an insect damages the bark, other times by an insect laying eggs under the bark, other times by a fungus or bacterium. They're not fatal to your tree. Just snip them off if it doesn't damage the design.

Jim (or others),

In order to remove all of the galls, I am going to have to prune this tree back quite hard. This may be a good thing because the tree needs some ramification, but I want to make sure I do it at the right time of year, in the right way, etc. Can you give me some ramification/ pruning tips specifically for live oaks?

Thanks.

Tim Ahlen
Dallas TX
Zone 8ish

I doubt oaks react any differently than any other deciduous tree. Cut just above a bud (but below the gall). It should react by forming new buds.

Fall is probably an OK time. Or late winter.

Thanks, Jim. I just was unsure since live oaks are both deciduous and evergreen, if there might be some timing issues to consider for a heavy pruning.

I have a Coast Live Oak that's 16 years old now. It typically gets a big growth spurt fairly early in spring, then another less spectacular one in early summer. I have done some pruning during the summer and gotten new shoots but very little growth on them. I do the heavy pruning in late winter and protect it from freezing. Mine's definitely evergreen, losing only a few leaves/year, plus the few larger ones that I snip.