#1: Don't Top Trees!

#1 - Don't Top Trees!
#2 - 1/3 and 1/4 Rules of Pruning
#3 - How to Make a Pruning Cut
#4 - The Value of Mulch
#5 - Where Roots Really Grow
#6 - Girdling Kills Trees
#7 - How to Plant a Containerized Tree
#8 - How to Plant a Bare-root Tree
#9 - Your Street Trees May Be City Trees

Never cut main branches back to stubs. Many people mistakenly “top” trees because they grow into utility wires, interfere with views or sunlight, or simply grow so large that they worry the landowner. 

Unfortunately, the topping process is often self-defeating. Ugly, bushy, weakly attached limbs usually grow back higher than the original branches.

Proper pruning can remove excessive growth without the problems topping creates. In addition, many arborists say that topping is the worst thing you can do for the health of a tree. It starves the tree by drastically reducing its food-making ability and makes the tree more susceptible to insects and disease.

The appearance of a properly pruned tree is like a good haircut: hardly noticeable at first glance.