No. Topping (cutting a tree's main leaders back to stubs) is not an accepted arboricultural practice: it starves the tree, grows weakly attached shoots that break in wind, and usually costs more within a few years. If a tree is too big for its spot, an ISA Certified Arborist can usually reduce it properly or tell you honestly that it should come out.
People ask for topping when a tree is too tall, too close, or just makes them nervous. We understand the worry and we still will not top the tree, because it does not fix the problem.
What topping does to a tree: the stubs sprout dozens of fast, weak, water-sprout shoots attached only to the outer bark. In three to five years the tree is as tall as before, uglier, and far more likely to shed limbs in wind. The big stub cuts do not seal, and decay moves down the trunk. You pay twice.
What we do instead:
- Crown reduction: cutting back to a properly sized lateral limb so the tree keeps its natural form at a smaller size. Done to ANSI A300 pruning standards.
- Crown thinning and raising: more light and air through the canopy, lowest limbs up off the roof and the lawn.
- Cabling and bracing: for the weak union that is the real reason you are nervous.
- Removal: when the honest answer is that the tree is in the wrong place. We will say so.
Every job is assessed by an ISA Certified Arborist first. That is the difference between a tree service and a guy with a saw.
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