Question
central texas,15 ft circumference double trunk.
this tree has brush, cedars, misc trees growing into it's drip line,
I am clearing it out and one limb I supported with a pipe because it's prob 15in dia and runs horz prob 25 ft.

Do I need to support other limbs as i cut the brush along the drip line out?

one in particular is 10in dia at start, 4in dia at drip line and 35 ft long...when i cut the brush out this limb bowed 8 ft downward and is now slightly resting on the ground.  is this limb going to break off?  is it going to break the bigger limb it is attached to b/c that limb now carries more load?  should i just cut this limb off?  or push it up to hight before cutting brush out and support it?  i'd prob  just rather cut it than do taht, we could lose this lib and it not be too much a loss.  but then will conc fungi attack??
thank you
Dee

Answer
Ok If I understand the situation --you have an oak tree that the limbs are touching or almost touching the ground and you feel this may cause a problem with the tree. I think you may have a live oak tree. Their limbs over time will droop and can touch the ground. see attached picture of one in Georgia. http://www.angeloaktree.org/history.htm

These live oaks can survive with the limbs touching the ground with little difficulty. No need to brace it up. But sometimes these limbs interfere  with the area and activities under the tree. Then you can prune these limbs off BUT this will be a big job and can be dangerous since the limbs are very heavy. The whole limb will need to be cut of back to the trunk. On large limbs start near the end of the branch and cut sections off that you can handle. Pruning should be done only during the hottest time of year, late June to October and the coldest time, late November to mid February for the evergreen species of oaks  to keep the threat of disease and insects at a minimum. When you get to within three feet of the trunk make a cut on the under side of the limb about 12 inches from the trunk and then cut the limb from the top just beyond the under cut. This will keep the limb from splitting the trunk bark during the cut. Then cut the last 12 inches about down to 6 inches using  the same method then cut the last 6 inches to about 1/4- 1/2 inch from the trunk this will leave a branch collar. Then paint the wound which will be large with a black paint to help seal the wound. Any black paint will do OR you can use pruning paint.

This will be a large job and you might want to use a professional for this . If so use a certified Arborist. Here is the web link to certified Arborist and you can look one up close to you.  http://www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.aspx

This is a hard question to answer without seeing the tree but maybe the above has helped.