TOPPING TREES

Topping is a common practice, but very injurious to trees. It is the clumsy cutting back of the top of a tree to stubs, leaving lateral branches that are not large enough to assume the role of "treetop" or terminus of the tree’s growth. You may hear topping referred to as "tipping", "heading", "rounding over", or "hat-racking."

Usually, the objective is to reduce the size of the tree. People may feel that their trees have become too large for their location, or possibly that tall trees may be a hazard. Topping, however is not the answer. In fact, this harmful practice will make a healthy tree more hazardous over time.

Topping Stresses Trees:
The problem with topping is that it cuts away the major portion of the "food factory", or leaf-bearing crown, of the tree. This harsh pruning triggers the tree’s natural survival mechanism, and it puts out latent buds, forcing rapid growth of multiple shoots below each cut. In order to manufacture necessary food, the tree needs to grow a new crop of leaves as soon as possible. If the tree does not have stored energy reserves to survive this threat, it will be seriously weakened and may die.

Further, the large, open pruning wounds expose the sapwood and heartwood to attack by insects and disease. Some insects are actually attracted to stressed trees by chemical signals. Lack of sufficient energy reserves will leave the tree unable to chemically "defend" the wounds against these attacks.

Topping Causes Decay:
Provided they are healthy, trees are innately capable of closing the wounds caused by correctly done pruning. The proper place to remove a branch is just beyond the branch collar at the branch’s point of attachment. Cuts farther out on the limb, between lateral branches, leave stubs with open wounds that the tree may not be able to close. Few trees are able to combat the multiple severe wounds caused by topping. Decay organisms have a free and clear path to move into the tree down the branches.

Sunburn??
Yep, topping can do to a tree what we all dread at the beach. The thousands of leaves in a tree’s crown are there to absorb sunlight. Cutting out the leaves as the top is removed suddenly exposes the remaining branches and trunk to the harsh levels of light and heat produced by direct sun. This can sunburn the delicate tissues beneath the bark, leading to bark splitting, cankers and death of some affected branches.

Hazards Created by Topping:
As a tree tries to survive after a topping, the multiple shoots that develop below each topping cut cost the tree dearly in reserves of strength. These new shoots, unlike normal branches that develop in a "socket" of overlapping wood tissue, develop from buds near the surface. As a result, they are anchored only in the outermost layers of the parent branches.

Stubs left from topping usually decay, and the shoots produce below the cut are weakly attached to the tree. As they grow quickly very large, they are likely to break, particularly in windy weather. Thus, the attempt to reduce the tree’s height to make it safer has the opposite result, making it more hazardous than before.

Instant and Permanent "Ugly" for the Tree:
By removing the ends of the top branches, topping can leave ugly stubs, destroying the natural form of the tree. Without the leaves, the tree appears disfigured and mutilated. As the leaves grow back, it becomes a dense ball of foliage, lacking its former stately grace. Once a tree is topped, it can never be fully restored to its natural form.

Topping is Expensive:
The true cost of this practice is not just the initial fee paid to the perpetrator. Within a few years, if it survives, the injured tree will need to be trimmed again, or its new branches will fall victim to storm damage and the resulting cleanup. Of course, if it dies, it will have to be removed. One more reason to avoid this high maintenance pruning practice.

Another cost frequently ignored is the effect on property value. Healthy, well-maintained trees can add 10% to 20% to the value of a property. Trees disfigured by topping are considered a pending expense, which can reduce the value of the property.

Further, because topping is an unacceptable pruning practice, any damage caused by branch failure in a topped tree may lead to a finding of owner negligence in a court of law.

The Best Alternative:
Pruning large trees can be dangerous work. A certified Arborist can determine what type of pruning is necessary to improve the health, appearance and safety of your trees.