#1 Rule in tree pruning DON'T TOP TREES.

Rule #1 in trimming trees DO NOT TOP TREES. Why?

By topping a tree you are removing the trees leaves and therefore it’s ability to produce food (photosynthesise). The trees natural response is to pile on rapid upright growth in an attempt to reach the sunlight. This upright growth, if left unmanaged, will often create a new crown that’s more dense than the previous crown and therefore allowing less light to the leaves.

This new growth is attached to the tree at the edges of a wound that will generally decay over time, and as the new growth increases in weight it is more likely to break off in high winds. This is serious if the “new growth” is 10 years old, weighs 30kg and overhangs your conservatory! The wounds created by topping are unnatural and therefore very difficult for the tree to heal, so often infection will enter the tree at this point and work it’s way through the rest of the tree. It is a great shame to see a mature tree that has been topped and is slowly declining as decay works it’s way down into the main structure, causing the crown to slowly disintegrate.

What if thinning or reducing won’t solve the problem?

This is a tough question, and one that often leads tree surgeons to topping, but over the years I have come to believe that if that tree is just too big or too close or too messy, then why not remove it and re-plant with something more suitable. If a tree is in the wrong spot then you will either spend the rest of it’s life, or the rest of your life fighting with it. And what good is a mature tree that’s been so severely pruned that it will be an eye sore and potential hazard, if not for you, for your neighbours or future owners of your property.

Remember: just because a tree is large, it is not necessarily unsafe, and by topping a tree you can cause greater harm than good. Causing the tree to therefore become dead, dying, and therefore unsafe.

What to do? Properly trim your tree. Especially starting when it is a sapling... or replace it with a smaller safer sized tree for the area.