wrote in message
ps.com...

I am a first time home owner, so please excuse my ignorance. My house
is on a heavily treed lot. I have a several large oak trees which
hang over the roof and provide a great deal of shade for the
blistering Texas summer and keep my bills quite a bit lower than my
neighbors. At the same time however, I have been cautioned that the
leaves and twigs that fall on the roof can be hazardous long term to
the shingles. Should I consider having the trees trimmed back?

Now you own trees, it is in your own interest to learn what
they are and what you may expect, e.g. what species,
how much larger they grow with each successive year,
and how they interact with the house. You should hire
an arborist for a half-hour session on all these points,
write down what trimming may be desirable in 2008,
2009 and 2010, then find out next year which parts
of the 2008 programme you can safely do yourself.
Remember, (1) these trees grow every year indefinitely,
(2) every tree develops weaknesses or diseases in
time: you need to find out whether "time" is 10 years
or 250 years.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)