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TIL my old crew boss in Boise was wrong about topping those big maples
Last week I saw a client's yard from 3 years ago, where we topped three 60-foot silver maples against my advice, and now they're covered in weak, ugly water sprouts and decay pockets. The owner called me back to ask why his trees look so bad and I had to explain the topping caused all of it. Has anyone else had to fix a topped tree that was supposed to be 'good for it' by an old-school arborist?
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benflores1mo ago
That's a tough spot to be in, having to explain that kind of damage years later. Seen the same thing with topped oaks around here, just a mess of weak growth and rot setting in fast. It really sets back the tree's health for good, doesn't it? How did your client take the news?
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finley_craig531mo ago
Honestly, it's brutal. The client was pretty upset, which I get. Tbh I've seen topped maples just fall apart after a few big storms, huge limbs just snapping off at those rotten joints. It feels like you're just watching a slow death, you know?
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