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The weather has turned chilly and trees are losing their leaves and entering dormancy. Soon it will be winter, the safe time to prune oak and elm trees.

“These trees should only be pruned during the cold months to protect them from serious disease threats,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. That’s because the insects that spread these diseases are not active in winter.

Oak trees are vulnerable to a serious fungal disease called oak wilt. It can kill some species within just a few months by interfering with the transport of water from the roots to the branches and leaves. Branch by branch, the tree dries out and dies.

The fungus is spread by sap-feeding insects that are attrac

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