Tree Topping

“Top that Tree, Baby!”  WHOA!!! WHOA!!! Not so fast there.

Got a tree to top? That might not be the best idea. I get it… you don’t want to lose the tree altogether but you also have to take it down a bit because of the HOA rules or something else.

But, did you know topping a tree is not a good idea?

We almost never top a tree. This is an old and outdated technique that some people use, however it can cause major fitness problems for that tree long-term and could also get a licensed arborist in pretty big trouble.

We prefer to do wind-sailing or crown thinning, which has a much better effect for the tree. The only time we would ever consider topping a tree is that tree had already been topped in the past by another service. In this case, it makes the most sense to continue to maintain at the height is was previously topped at, because any thing that grows beyond that point would be much more likely to come down in a windstorm and a danger to anything in its path.

Wind-sailing is the process of taking removing the weight and stress that some larger branches are causing for that tree to help protect it from coming down in a heavy windstorm. Weighting and balancing is if a tree has an unnatural lean one way or another we would remove some of the weight off one side to help balance it out.  Dead wooding is where we remove dead branches and clean the tree up a bit. Skirting is removing the first few limbs from a tree to help provide clearance away from the ground, your roof, house fence etc..

These are the best ways to solve the problem of a tree that’s just too tall, but again, topping is really not the best option. Call us today to find out a better way to get the job done. We service all throughout the Puget Sound region.