i effin hate topping!!

[CanopyGorilla]

Well, as a "professional" climber I officially ****ed some trees up today. I topped 14 Lombardy Poplars. Last season I did some crown restoration on these trees to try and restore a natural look after they had been topped a few years back. Today I went and hacked the crap out of them because the uphill neighbors paid us and the home owners to "vista prune"...... Oh well. I tried to talk the HO out of it with no luck. Apparently the uphill neighbors wrote them a nice enough check.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Ya know, I don't recall ever pruning one of those trees, just removals. Don't feel to bad though, these trees are junk, I am surprised there was enough left of them to prune. Whenever I see a row of them I get depressed. I don't think they plant them anymore.

 

[windthrown]

Yah, I hear yah about topping/pollarding. They commonly do that to sycamore trees in California all the time. Not for views, just because its common practice there, especially with street trees. Then the trees spray out sprouts and look like absolute unnatural crap. I see a lot of poplars/cottonwoods here that are topped and hedge cut as well. Common trees here. I guess if you want a 30 ft. tall hedge, topped poplars are one way to get one. Asplundh crews are good at doing that stuff for power lines and easements here as well. They are the 'experts'.

 

[Ryan Shaw]

I worked for company for a couple months that did that all the time. Blows my mind that after you explain to the customer why they shouldn't top not to mention how friggen ugly it's going to look, they still want it done? Ugh

 

[beastmaster]

There are whole neighborhoods where I live where all the trees are topped. Shame. I like the guys who top multi-leader pine trees out here, now there's a sight. most the time they just die back to the trunk.
Don't feel to bad, Lombardy populars are best topped about 1 ft from the ground. Their weak, the roots are invasive, they have no form, dirty.... Anyway you'll be back doing them again soon next year because they're fast growers.

 

[stltreedr]

I very simply just dont do it.

 

[gorman]

I turned down a job this morning from some woman who wanted that.

 

[Zale]

Relax, its a Lombardy. As a practice, topping is wrong but there are exceptions. You got paid, right?

 

[Oak Savanna]

Well, as a "professional" climber I officially ****ed some trees up today. I topped 14 Lombardy Poplars. Last season I did some crown restoration on these trees to try and restore a natural look after they had been topped a few years back. Today I went and hacked the crap out of them because the uphill neighbors paid us and the home owners to "vista prune"...... Oh well. I tried to talk the HO out of it with no luck. Apparently the uphill neighbors wrote them a nice enough check.

I have been in a campground all week taking down poplars that were topped a while back. All junk!!

 

[CanopyGorilla]

Yup, I got paid. I agree with the Lombardy thing, they are some of my least favorite trees. I was mainly bugged because I spent 5 hours swinging around in poorly attached new "leaders" trying to get a straight row on 14 trees when what I wanted to do was dump them all and consult with the HO on appropriate new trees for the location. Oh well, I bet they will have me back again next year for more "restoration" because they look like shiot again.

 

[CanopyGorilla]

On a side note, does anyone know if this is true?: I had someone tell me that swedish aspen (Populus Tremula Erecta) were a cross between a quaking aspen (populus tremuloides) and lombardy poplar. It seemed funky to me but the branch structure is similar????

 

[jefflovstrom]

Well, as a "professional" climber I officially ****ed some trees up today. I topped 14 Lombardy Poplars. Last season I did some crown restoration on these trees to try and restore a natural look after they had been topped a few years back. Today I went and hacked the crap out of them because the uphill neighbors paid us and the home owners to "vista prune"...... Oh well. I tried to talk the HO out of it with no luck. Apparently the uphill neighbors wrote them a nice enough check.

Probably the best thing to do,,
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

Yah, I hear yah about topping/pollarding. They commonly do that to sycamore trees in California all the time. Not for views, just because its common practice there, especially with street trees. Then the trees spray out sprouts and look like absolute unnatural crap. I see a lot of poplars/cottonwoods here that are topped and hedge cut as well. Common trees here. I guess if you want a 30 ft. tall hedge, topped poplars are one way to get one. Asplundh crews are good at doing that stuff for power lines and easements here as well. They are the 'experts'.

Yup, see ya next year,
Jeff

 

[BC WetCoast]

On a side note, does anyone know if this is true?: I had someone tell me that swedish aspen (Populus Tremula Erecta) were a cross between a quaking aspen (populus tremuloides) and lombardy poplar. It seemed funky to me but the branch structure is similar????

Can't be, lombardy poplar is a hybrid and can only reproduce vegetatively.

I hate lombardies and have no qualms about topping them. They are one tree that as a HO I would be nervous about failing onto my house. Last thing I would want around my house is a 120' lombardy. Actually second to last thing, the last thing would be a white poplar (Populus alba) sending surface roots and shoots throughout my whole yard and drainage system.

 

[treeseer]

If you made the cuts at the best laterals possible for health and structure, given the objective of height, then what makes it topping?

 

[treesmith]

Poplars hold a special place in my heart...

I was topping out trees last week, but they were dead and we were creating "habitat"

 

[Ryan Shaw]

Poplars hold a special place in my heart...

I was topping out trees last week, but they were dead and we were creating "habitat"

You were topping dead trees?

 

[treesmith]

yup, it was an absolute delight.

Making them safer but retaining for wildlife habitat