Severely prune English walnut tree - Ask Extension
An English walnut tree near the property line has grown too tall and also reaches too far into the neighbor’s yard. Can the tree be cut back substan...
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Severely prune English walnut tree #911039
Asked July 23, 2025, 2:04 PM EDT
An English walnut tree near the property line has grown too tall and also reaches too far into the neighbor’s yard. Can the tree be cut back substantially and, if so, when and can the main truck and largest secondary branch be cut back 10 feet or more?
Than you for your advice.
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi and thanks for your question and pictures of your English Walnut tree. Yes, the tree can be cut back which I know because an arborist had to cut ours back last year.
Assuming you are going to do this yourself, you should wait until the tree goes dormant in winter. The following website has a great picture of how to take off the large branch and leave the "collar" intact so the tree will be able to heal itself. Scroll down to the section called "Pruning Bearing Trees" and you will see the picture on the right side.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-8907-growing-walnuts-oregon#pruningandtrainingwalnuttrees
You can prune the smaller branches at any time, but the less you take off the better the tree can recover, so you might want to make this a several year project.
You can also call a professional ISA certified arborist for an estimate of how much they would charge to do it for you. As we found out from having ours done, the branches are a LOT heavier than they look and injuries are possible. Here is a site to find an arborist near you, and they usually don't charge to come and give an estimate. You can even get several estimates and choose your favorite!
https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist
Good luck with a beautiful tree,
Assuming you are going to do this yourself, you should wait until the tree goes dormant in winter. The following website has a great picture of how to take off the large branch and leave the "collar" intact so the tree will be able to heal itself. Scroll down to the section called "Pruning Bearing Trees" and you will see the picture on the right side.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-8907-growing-walnuts-oregon#pruningandtrainingwalnuttrees
You can prune the smaller branches at any time, but the less you take off the better the tree can recover, so you might want to make this a several year project.
You can also call a professional ISA certified arborist for an estimate of how much they would charge to do it for you. As we found out from having ours done, the branches are a LOT heavier than they look and injuries are possible. Here is a site to find an arborist near you, and they usually don't charge to come and give an estimate. You can even get several estimates and choose your favorite!
https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist
Good luck with a beautiful tree,
