tree topping
Removing upper branches
Tree topping is the drastic pruning practice of cutting back large branches to stubs, often removing much of a tree's crown.
Arborists consider it harmful—it weakens trees, invites disease, and produces unstable regrowth.
Despite professional opposition, homeowners sometimes request it to reduce height or clear power lines: The neighborhood association banned tree topping after several topped trees died.
- pruningCutting vegetation for health
- cuttingDividing via sharp edge
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- branchesLimbs of trees
- chainsawMotor-driven cutting tool
power tools · arborist · lopping · shearing · stumping · regrowth · stress · decay · structural damage · hazard · ugly · butchering · mutilation · hack job · sprouts · canopy · height · reduction
- Lumberjack Sportsaxe throwing, pole climbing, birling, chopping, sawing
- forestrysilviculture, forests, forestry, reforestation, timber
tree toppingtree preservation
Protecting standing woody plants
benign neglect · tree conservation · preservation · non-intervention
tree, topping, trees, treed, treeless, tops, topped, topper, toppers