Can You Make a Tree Smaller?
A tree can just… keep growing taller and taller?
Forever?
Until it cracks or falls over and dies?
Memento Mori: remember, all living things must die - but at least don’t be a tree’s untimely executioner!
Give us the Skinny
Trees aren’t like mammals; a chopped limb won’t stop a tree from growing a new one.
What happens if a tree grows too large and obstructs a beautiful mountain view? What is one to do?
What is Tree Topping?
Tree Topping is the erroneous practice of removing large quantities of leaves and branches from a tree’s crown to shorten or “top” the tree and prevent safety risks.
In short, it doesn’t work.
Trees, like any living plant, photosynthesize to feed themselves. Leaves capture the sun and process nutrition, or “food.” If a tree is topped, it is starved of nutrition due to significant leaf loss. Topped trees often lose from fifty percent to nearly the entire leaf-bearing crown!
Photo Credit Nicole Sims
Unlike humans, trees can’t uproot themselves and drive to the nearest fast food place to get grub if hungry. Trees will use stored reserves to rapidly replenish leaf growth to photosynthesize their food.
Aye, there’s the rub! Once topped, suckers (shoots) quickly sprout from dormant buds underneath and along the older parts of the tree.
Already stressed, these shoots are weakly attached to branches. Branch collars, which previously would have provided branch strength thanks to their overlapping wood tissues, are chopped off in the topping process.
Weak branches are susceptible to breaking and dropping in wind storms. Be careful not to park your car or picnic chair under a topped tree!
Other Risk Factors of Tree Topping
Topped trees have too many exposed wounds to heal all of them effectively and in a timely manner, leaving the tree vulnerable to rotting organisms and internal decay. Similar to how a dirty wound on a human or animal can lead to severe disease, an open cut on a tree can lead to disease and decay.
Stressed trees give off stress smells, or chemical signals, to pests, guiding them to further decay the tree. If a tree has decayed enough, a sudden limb drop can occur!
Exposed to harsh sunlight, topped trees can become sunburnt, as their leaves that once acted as “clothes” or “sunscreen” have been removed. Like a human can develop blisters and peeling, so can sunburnt trees. Trees can develop canker and bark splitting if exposed too long to the harsh sun.
Sadly, just like humans, trees that have undergone prolonged sun exposure, will eventually die from exposure to the elements.
Photo Credit by Bain and Belgrave
Trimming Best Practices
Once a tree is topped, the decision to top it can’t easily be reversed. Topped trees need to be either topped every few years until they face death’s door, or they need to be removed.
Topping may seem like a cheaper option at first, but it will be more costly in the long run! The process of trying to “fix” a topped tree is called crown restoration, and it can be costly!
Besides continually topping or removal, retraining can be performed. It will not fix a topped tree, but if it is consistent, retraining can improve a tree’s looks and safety.
Proper pruning helps protect a tree’s structural integrity. Proper pruning allows the wind to waft through the branches safely instead of harshly shaking the tree to loosen and drop the branches.
Over time, proper pruning puts less stress on one’s purse strings and trees. The cost of tree removal can be astronomical! Prevent undue financial burden and properly trim your trees.
Summary
To eliminate all risks that may come from trees, one would have to eliminate all trees. The ISA Certified Arborists at Sims Tree Health Specialists, Inc. are here to open the bridge to tree safety education.
Unsure where to start? Call the expert team at Sims Tree Health Specialists, Inc., to schedule a consultation and learn the proper times of year and the proper trimming practices for your tree.
About Sims Tree Health Specialists, Inc.
Sims Tree Health Specialists, Inc. is dedicated to the preservation, education, improved health, and safety of trees. Sims THS has provided California’s Urban Forests with premium healthcare since 1972. To learn more, visit our website: https://www.simsths.com/
Sims THS offers services with our ISA Certified Arborists in the following:
Diagnosis and Disease Management, Pest Suppression, Organic Solutions, Fruit Suppression, Drought Protection, and Arborist Assessment Reports and Preservation Plans.
In addition to providing quality tree health services, the Sims family is known for their educational pursuits. In 1996, they started the Sims Tree Learning Center (TLC), a 6-acre botanical garden and research facility sponsored by Sims Tree Health Specialists, Inc. The facility houses multiple types of gardens including a cactus and succulent garden and one of the largest collections of Palms in the Inland Empire. Learn with us!
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