The Lincoln Times

Don't Top Your Trees!

By JOHN H. HARRIS
Horticulture Specialist

Stop, look, think, and you won't top your trees. Why? Here are four reasons:

1. Heavy cutting back of trees removes the limbs on which the leaves grow. The leaves make food for the tree, therefore, reducing the leaves reduces the food. The tree in desperation, puts out new limbs, but this isn't enough to support a large trunk and root system. The roots and trunk begin to decay and in a few years the tree dies or is blown down.

2. Topping trees destroys their natural shape. Prune young trees when transplanted to offset loss of roots, but after that little pruning will be necessary. Nature will put the right shape on the tree if the tree is given adequate light.

3. Cutting off limbs will make a tree compact. But most trees are too compact, they may need thinning out to let more sun in. Also, more sun is needed on the grass underneath.

4. Unless large limbs are properly removed and the wound kept covered with special tree paint (water soluble asphalt will do), decay will set in and you have a diseased tree.

To summarize, don't top your trees. If you need to remove large limbs for safety, have an expert do it. Any man that comes around wanting to top your trees doesn't know the first thing about tree pruning.

If some of your trees and shrubs get broken by snow or ice, prune off the broken limbs as best you can. Don't worry too much, nature has a wonderful way of reshaping plants. Some plants will "bleed" profusely when broken or cut in late winter or early spring. There isn't any way to stop this bleeding, and, too, it doesn't seem to hurt the plant too much. So, don't get excited.