Crown reduction vs topping debate - what's your call?

I had a 40 foot oak in my backyard that was hitting the house. Tried a reduction cut method I saw in a 2018 ISA article instead of just lopping the top off. The tree bounced back in 2 seasons with no rot. Anyone else find reductions work better long term or do you still top for safety?

3 comments

3 Comments

finley_wells665d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's exactly what I've been telling people! I did a reduction on a big silver maple near my patio instead of topping it and honestly the difference is night and day. The topped ones I see around the neighborhood always end up with these crazy sucker growths that are weak as hell and break off in storms. With the reduction cut, you keep the tree's natural shape and it just fills back in stronger. I had an arborist buddy tell me it's because you're working with the tree's own growth patterns instead of fighting them and he was right. That 40 foot oak of yours proving the point perfectly, two seasons and no rot is a solid win.

ivanjones5d agoMost Upvoted

Haha, "fighting them" instead of working with them, that's the whole thing right there. I tried the whole "working with the tree's growth patterns" approach once, but my wife says that's the same logic I use when I'm trying to convince her to let me keep a dead branch "for the birds." She's never buying it. But seriously, your buddy the arborist is spot on. I learned that lesson the hard way after I topped a little crabapple in my front yard thinking I was being clever. That thing looked like a half-plucked turkey for three years, and every sucker that grew back was just begging to snap off in a light breeze. So yeah, I'm officially on team "reduction cut" now, even if it means I have to climb a ladder and make careful cuts instead of just going at it with a chainsaw like a maniac.

jones.blake5d ago

Wait, a half-plucked turkey for THREE YEARS? Man that's brutal. I would have dug it up after year one out of sheer embarrassment. But it's good to know I wasn't the only one who learned the hard way about topping though. I did the same thing to a big maple about eight years ago and that sucker still sends up water sprouts every spring like it's mad at me.