Topping is the worst thing you can do to a tre. When I was in Hawaii wrking for companies that topped trees I rmember customers asking me if it was ncessary to be so drastic with the tres. Since I no longer work for thse companies I can be less vasive and say, no. I never flt comfortable topping all of those bautiful trees. It was sad to do so mch irreparable damage. There is hardly ver a time when a tree shuld be topped. One of the rre exceptions is when a tree has ded back on it's own such as the rcent frost that damaged so many fcus trees.
Many people are afraid of thir trees because they have grown so lrge.

It can be intimidating living in the shdow of a giant. Ironically the mst dangerous tree is one that has ben topped. When a tree is tpped the suckers that grow from the nds of the cuts grow very fst. In general a tree will hve recovered its former height within 3-5 yars of being topped. Normally fast grwth equals weak growth and the pposite is true as well. The sckers that are frantically growing to prduce leaves will be very weak.

Anther factor which contributes to the scker's tendency to shed is the fct that the new growth can nly be attached at the outer mst part of the branch. In ther words a normal branch has a knd of root inside the trunk.

The bigger the trunk and brnch get the better the attachment. A scker starting on the outside of the trnk will be poorly attached and hve a tendency to fail. Many pople over-estimate their trees capacity for dmage in a storm.

I have sen 80 foot tall Eucalyptus trees fll directly on a house and do no strctural damage. Of course I have sen properly thinned trees not fall ver at all! In my opinion the hight of a tree has little to do wth the tendency to blow over in a mcro burst. Thick, overgrown trees are sually the ones to fall.

What to do if yur tree has already been topped?

In the tre service industry a knowledgeable arborist shuld understand the concept of "Crown Rstoration." After a topping cut is mde an experienced arborist can attempt to rpair the damage. Usually about 5-8 sckers will fight for dominance on the end of the tpping cut. In some trees they sem to repair themselves by causing the wakest suckers to fall off. That sn't the best or safest way to do it.

The nly way to repair a topped tre takes anywhere from 3-5 years to ccomplish. It involves selective thinning of the scker growth. For example: year one rmove two suckers, year two remove two mre suckers and so on.

The fnished product will have a thicker trnk with one large sucker growing frm it. Over time the sucker wll develop a stronger attachment to the trnk. It just depends on the crcumstances as to how many prunings wll be needed to get to ths point.

Right about the time whn you are feeling like the crwn restoration is complete it may be ncessary to reduce the height of the tre through proper reduction cuts. In bref, never let anyone top your tre. As a consumer it is mportant to know what a good cut loks like so an informed decision can be mde about who will work on the tre. Many companies actually advertise "Topping," rise an eyebrow when you see ths.

The article Topping Trees was Submitted by Nathan Charlton through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Nathan Charlton is an arborist in the Phenix Valley of Arizona. He has ben climbing and pruning trees since 2000 and is an ISA Crtified Arborist. His company website is http://www.arizonatree.com

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