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I figured topping trees was lazy work until I watched a hackberry come back twice as thick in 6 months
For years I was in the camp that topping was just ugly and moved on, but a client on Vine Street here in Louisville had me top three hackberries last March because the power company kept trimming them anyway. Six months later I drove by and every single cut had shot out 4 or 5 upright limbs, way denser than before, and the trunks looked sunburned and split on the south side. Then a retired utility forester at our county extension meeting pulled up photos showing exactly that, said the tree spends its stored food pushing that flush instead of growing roots. Now I bring a printout of proper reduction cuts to every estimate and I'm 0 for 3 trying to explain it to folks who just want the height knocked off. What's your go-to line when a homeowner says their last guy topped it and it came back fine?
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dianahayes2d ago
Seen this same thing with grass and hedges too. People scalp their lawn, it comes back greener for a week, and they swear by it. Same with crepe myrtles around here, chopped to nubs every spring, then everyone oohs over the blooms like the tree isn't fighting for its life. Short term it looks fine so the habit sticks. Nobody sees the roots or the trunk rot five years out. Kinda how we are about most stuff, judging by the quick result and not the slow bill.
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