Heard a certified arborist say something about topping trees that made me stop and think

Ran into a guy at the local hardware store in Boise last weekend who told me topping trees actually makes them more dangerous long term, because the new growth is weak and snaps off easier. Does anyone else hear stuff like this from older folks who swear by it?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendyg4326d ago

and the funny thing is, I used to be one of those people who swore by topping. I thought I was being smart cutting the top off my maple tree because it was getting too close to the house. Turns out I just turned my tree into a scared little plant with a bunch of weak arms waving in the wind. The arborist I finally called in laughed so hard he snorted when I told him what I did. Now I just let my trees do their thing and hope they forgive me for all the bad haircuts I gave them.

faith_king26d ago

My buddy Steve out in Nampa did the exact same thing to his big old cottonwood tree back in 2018. He was worried about branches hitting his roof during wind storms so he topped it himself after watching a YouTube video. @wendyg43 you basically described Steve's exact situation, he ended up with all these spindly shoots that broke off in the first real spring storm we had. One of those weak arms actually landed on his neighbor's shed and Steve had to pay for the repairs plus a real arborist to come fix the mess. The arborist told him the same thing about topping making trees weaker not stronger, and Steve still brings it up every time we see a topped tree around Boise. Now he just prunes the lower stuff and leaves the top alone and his tree looks way better and safer.

the_aaron26d ago

Just grab a pole saw and clean the lower branches, works way better than butchering the whole top.