I have a post oak in the side of my yard. The house was built 14 years ago and the post oak is still doing well. It has a couple of dead limbs on it(I don't know how long they've been dead; I've only lived in the house for a year) and I'm afraid that they will introduce possible disease into the tree. Also, I may have made a big mistake. There is English ivy growing up the post oak and I started pulling it off so it wouldn't choke the tree. Unfortunately what I didn't pull off died and it's too high for me to get the dead English Ivy off the tree. I'm afraid that the dying English ivy will introduce disease.

I live in Coppell, Texas.

Thank you very much for any suggestions!

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Going Organic in Coppell

Don't worry so much about the ivy high up in the tree. But do take the rest of it off, carefully, so you don't rip off the bark. The biggest problem is that it creates pockets of moisture that lead to rot and disease. If you accidentally creat pockets of ripped off bark that open the tree up to the lower layers, use the recipe for tree trunk goop to close them up until they heal.

Dead limbs cause more of a problem hurting people or damaging property as they fall than causing disease to the tree in most cases.
If you do choose to trim, do it carefully and follow Howard's recommendations. NEVER cut flush to the trunk, but leave several inches of a stump. Douse the cut with hydrogen peroxide if you are doing it now since it's gotten hot.

Hope that helps!
Kathe

Good advice, Kathe.

Correcting something like cutting out the dead limb won't bother the Post Oak but don't do anything else like change its watering/feeding/etc. That annoys them.

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Shepherd of the Trees
It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields we know so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.