Down To Earth
By: Dallie Miessner-Howerton, Master Gardener

The sight of topped of trees has angered me for years. It’s senseless, brutalizing, and could easily be called the uglification of America’s older trees.

If you’re not familiar with this practice, when you see a tree that has been desecrated by topping, you will recognize it. Actually, it is just what it sounds like. The top of the tree is literally cut off.

You will see "topped" trees in most communities and along the roadways ... trunks with stubby limbs standing naked in the landscape, trees stripped of all grace and dignity. To those of us who love trees, the sight usually evokes a great deal of anger and disgust.

As we learn more about tree topping and its long-term effect, the more senseless this practice becomes. It is unnecessary stress and increased risk to the tree’s health. It is also a self-defeating exercise, usually not worth the expense, and the results pose a danger from rot and weakly attached re-growth.

Trees are often topped because they grow into utility wires, interfere with views or solar collectors, or simply grow so large they worry the landowner. Some people, having seen trees topped in a park, or other public place under the care of an "expert" top their trees because of a mistaken impression that the practice is good for trees, especially because of the obvious flush of new growth that follows.

Topping is also a result of irreputable "tree experts" knocking on doors and convincing the homeowner that for safety reasons, the job should be done and offer their services as "quick and cheap."

1. Starvation: Topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets an older tree’s well-developed crown-to-root ratio and temporarily cuts off its food-making ability.

2. Shock: A tree’s crown is like an umbrella that shields much of the tree from the direct rays of the sun. By suddenly removing this protection, the remaining bark tissue is so exposed that scalding may result. There may also be a dramatic effect on neighboring trees and shrubs. If these thrive in shade and the shade is removed, poor health or death may result.

3. Insects and Disease: The large stubs of a topped tree have a difficult time. The terminal location of these cuts, as well as their large diameter, prevent the tree’s chemically based natural defense system from doing its job. The stubs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion and the spores of decay fungi. If decay is already present in the limb, opening the limb will speed the spread of the disease.

4. Weak Limbs: At best, the wood of a new limb that sprouts after a larger limb is truncated is more weakly attached than a limb that develops more normally. If rot exists or develops at the severed end of the limb, the weight of the sprout makes a bad situation even worse.

5. Rapid New Growth: The goal of topping is usually to control the height and spread of a tree. Actually, it has just the opposite effect. The resulting sprouts (often called water sprouts) are far more numerous than normal new growth and they elongate so rapidly that the tree returns to its original height in a very short time - and with a far more dense and dangerous crown.

6. Tree Death: Some species of trees are less tolerant to topping than others. Beeches, for example, do not sprout easily after severe pruning and the reduced foliage most surely will lead to the death of the tree.

7. Ugliness: A topped tree is a disfigured tree. Even with its regrowth it never regains the grace and character of its species. The landscape and the community are robbed of a valuable asset.

8. Cost: To a worker with a saw, topping a tree is much easier than applying the skill and judgement needed for good pruning. Therefore, topping may cost less in the short run. However, the true costs of topping are hidden. These include: reduced property value, the expense of removal and replacement if the tree dies, the loss of other trees and shrubs if they succumb to changed light conditions, the risk of liability from weakened branches, and increased future maintenance.

What is so sad is the fact that people have paid good money to have this done to their trees. Only a continuing education program on the dangers of "topping" will eventually bring this practice to a halt.