Maryland Grows

I love trees. I’m betting you do, too. They’re striking and statuesque. They shade us and inspire us, offer wildlife habitat, and provide a backbone to our landscapes.  

But sometimes bad things happen to good trees. Well-intentioned but harmful practices such as topping threaten their health.

Pruning is good for trees. Done well, it can help to control size, remove potentially hazardous branches and improve both appearance and health. But bad pruning is harmful and can kill trees.

Topping – whacking off large limbs indiscriminately to stubs – is a very bad practice indeed. It’s damaging, dangerous, and expensive.

According to Dr. Alex Shigo, the world-renowned scientist and author of books on tree care, topping is the most serious injury you can inflict on a tree.  

Why do people top trees? Most have trees too big for their space and feel topping is a good way to control size and prevent hazards. It’s not. Topping weakens trees.

In fact, a topped tree is much more prone to problems, including poor health and an inclination to drop branches or fall.    

Leaves are food factories for trees. Since topping removes much of the leaf-bearing crown of a tree, it literally starves it.  

Topped trees react by forcing out fistfuls of thin shoots around the cut to make more leaves.  Creating these shoots drains even more energy.

A stressed tree is more vulnerable to insect and disease problems. The large, open wounds topping creates invite attack.  

Good pruning cuts are made where a branch meets the trunk or another branch. Trees can heal this type of cut. Topping cuts in the middle of a branch create ugly stubs that often don’t heal.  

Multiple large cuts – a staple of topping – create serious wounds. The exposed wood often decays and creates a pathway for infection. Columns of decay from repeat topping make a tree more likely to fall.

The multiple thin shoots that form near a topping cut are weak and bring problems all their own. They aren’t anchored in deep tissue like a normal branch, so they tend to break.  

The thick regrowth of new branches also makes a tree top-heavy and more likely to catch the wind in a storm. 

Also, topping is expensive. Topped trees need to be pruned regularly due to the rapid regrowth of all those skinny branches. Repeat toppings are more costly in the long run than proper professional pruning.  

Topping has hidden costs, too. Weakened trees are more likely to cause damage by falling or dropping branches. And disfigured trees do nothing to enhance property values. 

According to the International Society of Arboriculture, well-maintained, healthy trees can add 10 to 20 percent to the value of your property, while topped trees reduce value.  

If a tree has overgrown its space, know that there are better options, including crown reduction or removal and replacement with a smaller tree. Just be safe and leave the big jobs for the pros.    

Here’s our fact sheet on tree pruning that tells you more.   

Topped trees are ugly, unhealthy, hazardous, and costly. Please don’t top your trees. I want you to enjoy happy, healthy trees for a very long time. 

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension.

This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.