Trees live a long time and can survive many types of damage. Because of this, many people assume that they can be cut and sculpted without any real risk. Unfortunately, certain types of pruning, including cutting off the top of a tree, can cause irreversible damage and may even result in the death of the plant.

What Is Tree Topping?

Tree topping is the process of cutting off the top part of a tree; in some cases, the entire canopy is removed. Some landscaping companies advocate tree topping as a quick way to reduce the size of a tree; they argue that since the plant of capable of growing back, no real harm will be done.

Unfortunately, topping a tree causes incredible trauma to the plant and often results in disease, rot, and eventual death. Topped trees may grow a few shoots back in the weeks after the damage, but they will never fully regrow to a meaningful extent. Because of this, tree topping is seen as an environmentally harmful form of pruning that is avoid by most professional landscapers.

Caring for Your Trees the Right Way

The leaves on a tree’s canopy provide valuable nutrition by absorbing sunlight through photosynthesis. The very top part of the canopy gathers the most sunlight and provides protection to the branches and leaves underneath. If this canopy is removed, the plant will go into shock, causing a variety of symptoms and allowing diseases and parasites to set in.

Because of this risk, professional landscapers prefer to prune trees by selectively removing broken or overgrown branches. Every individual branch is cut separately, and some cuts are left until the tree has had time to heal from the previous ones. This allows the tree to maintain a normal photosynthesis process and grow back new leaves at a reasonable rate.

If your trees are too tall or large, don’t jump for a cheap tree topping procedure. Instead, call a professional landscaper like Neighborhood Landscaping Inc. to get the job done in a way that will keep your tree healthy for years to come.