ever heard of cutting the top half of a tree down?

[voxac30dude]

this guy wants to hire me my friend who is a 20 year Arborist to cut a tree in half. personally i think it's weird. the tree is perfectly healthy but the home owner says it's too tall(50 feet). he wants us to climb up into the tree and cut from the top down about 20 feet. have any of you guys ever done this? wouldent it look weird with a flat stump left on the top? please chime in thanks.

 

[voxac30dude]

I ususally remove the bottom 20 feet and leave the top. Makes it easier to cut the lawn with no trunk to trim around.



/

hahahaha.

 

[scotclayshooter]

Yep it looks real bad they do it here now and then as well

 

[Marty B]

Pollard

The only trees that I have seen cut in half as a common practice are Mulberry, Sycamore, Crape myrtle, and Cherry.

 

[ozzy42]

We have a lot of seniors here who think that is the only way to make a tree "safe" ,at least to them.
I try to talk them out of it ,telling them" it will harm the tree,it will grow back worse than before, etc,etc."
Some will listen ,some won't.

Some tell me they will be dead by time it becomes a problem again,and they don't care.
At that point ,I do whatever they want to do .
It is after all,,,their tree.

But it has been debated on here quite a bit ,and there are plenty who will disagree with me ,but nobody chimed in yet,so I figured I would give you my
.02 worth.

edit: In some cities here it is illegal to remove a canopy from certain trees.
check with the regs where you are.

 

[voxac30dude]

anyone have pics of a tree cut like this? i cant find any. thanks.

 

[Plasmech]

I ususally remove the bottom 20 feet and leave the top. Makes it easier to cut the lawn with no trunk to trim around.



/

OK I have to admit, this made me chuckle.

 

[arbor pro]

It's called 'topping' and yes, it looks bad and is also bad for the health and safety of the tree. I attached an image from the web. Just do a web search on 'tree topping' and you should find plenty of information on why it is widely accepted as a bad practice in arboriculture.

 

[dave066]

glasgow va

there are alot of these in this area. most die due to the half cutters in the area

 

[voxac30dude]

oh man! YUCK! those are some of the most hideous topped trees i have ever seen. gosh i sure hope i can talk him outta "topping" this tree. if not then hey it's money and his property so, oh well. get'r done!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

http://images.google.com/images?q=tree topping

 

[dingeryote]

Head over to the "Chainsaw" section for the oregon bar question...

I dunno what is worse. Topped tree's or the mentality that creates them.

The local Asplundh crews have taken to topping trees under power lines in folks front yards instead of simply asking the owner if removal would be preferred.

There's some REALLY ticked off folks here because of it.

It looks like crap, and nobody gets any decent firewood.
Folks would rather just have the things removed so they end up taking 'em down anyway.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[afblue]

The power company is notorious for it, they cut the branches as they see fit whether it benefits the tree or not. Maybe talk him into pruning the tree down so at least it has some shape to it, and wont look ugly as sin? But I am not an arborist....

 

[capetrees]

Before you turn away the job, what kind of tree is it? I just re-topped some pines in my area and they are really thick and healthy, we topped them three years ago and they grew back. Some trees are unaffected by topping, others are devistated.

 

[chipmaker29]

that is a common practice around where i live especially with maples. i hate it and i can promise ya trees "topped" will go into shock & more than likely die as a result. i have done this type of thing for customers in the past but i try my very best to talk them outta of doin it. it does seem like older clients prefer this option and idk why but there are some that will not listen & always think they know more than you about what is good for their trees..lol

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Worded that way, it almost conveys topping.

Does he have any reason for even keeping it?

 

[Dalmatian90]

Capetrees, just curious given your area if the "pines" were pitch pines? I wonder if they respond well to something like that because they evolved in a fire prone ecology that would hit them hard periodically.

 

[capetrees]

You are correct. We top them off mostly for views to the ocean and bay. So long as the lower greenery is still present, the tree actually becomes more dense, and grows laterally more than tall.

 

[Rftreeman]

git-r-done

git-paid

have a cold one.........

The power company is notorious for it, they cut the branches as they see fit whether it benefits the tree or not. Maybe talk him into pruning the tree down so at least it has some shape to it, and wont look ugly as sin? But I am not an arborist....

Have you ever seen what happens when a tree is allowed to grow under and or through high voltage lines (because the owner refuses to let the utility company remove it) and some kid climbs the tree, it looks something like this (WARNING THIS IS GRAPHIC) but with a tree involved

 

[dave066]

You are correct. We top them off mostly for views to the ocean and bay. So long as the lower greenery is still present, the tree actually becomes more dense, and grows laterally more than tall.

Any that servive that I seen end up with 10 to 50 leads,going staight up with very little thickness to the leads but keep going straight up