The great 'just prune the top' misunderstanding I keep seeing in my town

Okay, so I'm in a small city park a lot (Springfield, if you're curious) and I keep hearing homeowners tell each other to 'just take a bit off the top' of their big oaks to let more light in. They think it's a simple haircut. I saw a guy last Tuesday with a brand new pole saw, about to just flat-top a beautiful pin oak because his grass was patchy. I had to walk over and explain that topping is basically a death sentence, creating weak, fast-growing water sprouts that split later. It doesn't fix the light issue, it just makes a dangerous, ugly tree. I showed him how to identify a few interior crossing branches we could actually thin out instead. How do we get this 'top it' idea out of people's heads for good? Is it just bad advice from old gardening books?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy8242d ago

Ugh, that makes me so mad. Good on you for stepping in. Do you think it's just lazy advice getting passed around, or is there some cheap tree service in town actually promoting this junk to make a quick buck?

adams.henry2d ago

Heard a podcast where an arborist said some companies push tree topping because it's fast money and they know most homeowners won't see the damage for a few years. They bank on you not knowing any better and just wanting a quick fix for a cheaper price. Makes sense when you think about how many people just go with the lowest bid.