We all know what a topped tree looks like: some strange animal?EUR??,,??s antlers, a hat rack, or a gross disfigurement of a natural shape. What you may not know is that it is the most destructive thing done to a tree in the disguise of helping it. If you get a hangnail, do you cut your hand off? If you need a haircut, do you shave your head? No, so why remove the entire canopy of a tree for a routine problem? Reasons can range from ?EUR??,,??it?EUR??,,??s too big,?EUR??,,?? to ?EUR??,,??that?EUR??,,??s what we always do,?EUR??,,?? or ?EUR??,,??I don?EUR??,,??t want to clean up leaves in the fall.?EUR??,,?? Fear of the tree falling is the most common. All of these reasons have nothing to do with tree health and are not problems solved by severe canopy removal. Every forester, arborist, or landscaper should know that tree topping has many obvious and hidden costs. Any properly trained arborist or tree trimmer will never want to top any tree for any reason. Trees grow slowly compared to other vegetation, so results of bad practices can take a while to determine what exactly caused the damage. Trees have not evolved over millions of years to fully recover from the extreme stress of having all its limbs and leaves removed. A good example of this is a storm-damaged tree in the forest that is shaded out by other healthy trees. Each species of tree and its level of health can cause different responses to the severe damage resulting from being topped. Some die quickly while others live on with numerous short and long-term problems. This makes sense when considering tree species variation and physiology. Long-lived species such as oak, tulip-poplar, or hickory recover poorly from severe crown damage with little re-growth and extensive limb and trunk decay. Short-lived and weak wooded species such as willow, silver maple, and mimosa explode with new growth, but will still have decay after any damage. What they lose in age they make up for with rate of growth. Either way, the new growth and the remaining wood have problems. A study done by David D. Close, Community Forestry Volunteer Coordinator at Southern Illinois University, showed that homeowners perpetuate the tree topping practice more than the landscape industry. Many believe it?EUR??,,??s the right thing to do after watching electric companies top trees for line clearance. These uninformed homeowners hire someone with a chainsaw and a truck to do it the way they have seen. Some believe it?EUR??,,??s all just a plant. They hedge trim bushes or cut back shrubs to promote new growth then use that same method on trees. Trees grow differently than other vegetation so treating a tree as a shrub only creates more work, cost, and reduces the health of the tree. Home and business owners should hire professionals to do the job right, and they must trust us to provide the best service we can. Customers are not always right, especially if they don?EUR??,,??t understand the consequences. There are generally accepted reasons not to top trees that can be used to convince any person, if you understand their motives. Arborists should ask a few questions about why the owner believes a tree needs trimming before starting any work. The following list shows the harm that can be done to trees by topping: Starvation - Topping removes the food factory, leaves. Sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and the process of photosynthesis create sugars for the tree to live, thrive, and survive. A tree produces enough to live and store some energy. If you take away production, the tree is forced to regrow small limbs and leaves from storage before it can start producing new energy. Since most of this new growth dies off from competition and decay, the energy is wasted. The tree lives on the reserves that it needs for drought, insects, or disease attacks. Timing does not matter. Topping in the fall is no better than the summer because energy is stored in the wood. Decay ?EUR??,,?? Trees don?EUR??,,??t heal, they seal. Every bit of damage a tree receives is always there but sealed off through compartmentalization of the damage. Basically, The tree walls off decay before it spreads too far. The wounds from topping are usually at some arbitrary distance from something and not where the tree can seal off the wound. Usually wounds are too big to seal and decay travels downward to the main trunk creating a higher potential hazard, reduced health, and poor appearance. Pruning paints and tars makes no difference. Studies have shown no effect, except for creating a few more problems by hiding decay and slowing the natural sealing process. Exposure ?EUR??,,?? Internal tree limbs that have been shaded for years are exposed to the elements. Sunscald and frost damage are common after a tree has been topped. These types of damage show up as loose or cracked bark. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to see this from the ground and many don?EUR??,,??t notice until the limb loses bark or dies, sometimes years later. Thin barked trees such as maples, beeches, and small ornamentals are highly susceptible. Exposure also affects the soil because its not protected from heavy rains that were slowed by the canopy. Established landscaped areas, within the shade or wind reduction area of the tree, can be affected by the sudden full sunlight and wind speeds. Insects and Disease - Any plant with growth too thick is more susceptible to insects and disease such as powdery mildew and aphids. This problem is reduced, as the flush of growth is lost from competition and those same insects and disease. Recovery is an added stress and loss of energy for the tree. In addition, the problem can transfer to other trees and landscaping in the area. Aesthetics ?EUR??,,?? A topped tree is ugly. Trees have evolved for millions of years to use their natural shape to its benefit for strength and/or flexibility during storms. Topping forces the tree to into a situation it is not ready to handle. Many trees are at their best when in a mature shape, flowering, or in fall color. Forcing the tree just to survive will probably only produce leaves and seeds. Shapes are part of a landscape design; columnar, round, vase, and all the other shapes can be wonderful if allowed to do their job. A tree will fight to keep that shape no matter how much someone fights back. Don?EUR??,,??t force a pyramidal tree into a round space. Pruning methods such as tipping, rounding, shaping, and lion?EUR??,,??s tailing are similar to topping and produce the same bad results. These methods are not normal occurrences for a tree so they respond to it like an injury. Tipping, shaping, and rounding are very similar to topping without the major wood removal. This is the idea of people treating trees like shrubs. If you want a round tree, plant a round tree, don?EUR??,,??t plant a hemlock and hedge trim it. Lion?EUR??,,??s tailing is where all the internal branches and leaves are removed except for the outer ends of each main limb. The excuse here is to improve light to the ground and increase wind resistance. In reality, this promotes sunscald, excessive suckering, and weak main limbs. There are alternatives to this outdated method of tree trimming. Thinning of the canopy can be done to increase light for better grass or flower growth. Raising or removal of problem limbs without trimming the whole tree is common for isolated clearance problems. Pruning when young lets the tree grow into a strong shape instead of fixing a major problem when old. I definitely would rather make a few cuts with a hand pruner than have to climb the tree and remove large, dangerous portions. Making cuts at a branch collar gives the tree the best chance for sealing a wound. Branch collars are the wrinkled area at the base of every limb where it attaches to the main trunk. Use the 1/3 Rule when trimming any tree. It?EUR??,,??s actually two rules in one. Do not remove more than 1/3 of the crown at one time and do not cut a limb larger than 1/3 of what its attached to. For example, you can cut a 4?EUR??,,?? limb attached to a 12?EUR??,,?? limb. Anything more increases decay probability, tree strength reduction, and aesthetic problems. Nick Kuhn is the department head of Urban Forestry and Land Management for the City of McMinnville, Tennessee.