Archive March 2023

Having healthy, lush growth near the tree’s top is aesthetically pleasing. This is different with topped trees, as unpleasant as it may appear. It looks like some of them had an unpleasant trim. When this happens, trees lose much more than their visual appeal.

Trees lose more than their aesthetic value when this happens. Trees suffer from the practice of topping for a variety of additional reasons. While considering whether or not to top your trees, getting all the information you can is essential. Before understanding why tree topping is bad, let’s define what we mean by saying tree topping.

Tree Topping:

To prune back a tree, or top it, is to reduce its height.   When trees are topped, sometimes the entire tree canopy has to be taken down. The tops of trees are periodically pruned without cutting off all of the smaller branches below them. Trees weakened in a storm and might fall on a person, or a vehicle is often topped.

Trees that are too tall and whose further growth will cause damage to power or utility lines are sometimes topped. Some homeowners choose to have their trees topped if they have grown too huge for their properties or represent an unbearable risk to their homes and families.

Why Is topping bad for trees?

The effects of tree topping are far-reaching and devastating. The main drawbacks of tree topping are as follows:

• Degradation increases with topping:

Trees may heal and mend wounds after being properly trimmed with chainsaw chain tools. Topping, however, is a different story no matter what equipment is utilized. The tree’s wounds from being topped might not heal. Those conditions lead to the onset of degradation in the wood’s tissue. Usually, a tree only separates the rotting parts into their little compartments.

Yet, a tree can rarely recover from the numerous, serious wounds inflicted by topping. As a result, the tree is more vulnerable to disease and destruction from insects, bugs, and annoying germs like fire blight.

• Food supply Is affected by topping:

With the help of photosynthesis, leaves produce nourishment for trees. When a tree is topped, anywhere from half to all of its leaves are removed. This has a dramatic effect on the tree’s capacity to produce food. Hence, topping can cause starvation and negatively affect a tree’s development. Trees can die from starvation if their leafy crown is cut off during topping. 

• Topping increases possibility of limb failure:

A tree’s natural defenses will activate after being topped. If the tree’s hormonal structure is altered, growth can be stimulated. Thus, the tree could rapidly develop new branches and leaves. To compensate for the strength lost by topping, these branches grow far more quickly than typical branches.

These branches, however, usually need to be stronger and have a shaky hold on the main tree. Thus, they still tend to fall apart in high winds or during a storm. That’s to say, there’s a far higher possibility of limb failure.

Conclusion:

Trees can be trimmed down in height by topping them. Trees that are excessively tall for their surroundings or the owners consider a hazard should be cut down. Nevertheless, topping is not a safe way to shorten someone’s stature and will not prevent any potential dangers in the future.

Being an established business, Aesthetic Tree & Hedge Services offers the following services: Hedge trimming, arborist reports, tree removal, trimming of trees, tree topping, and tree vegetation. Look out for this website if you need any of these tree-related services.

Diseases that afflict humans also impact trees. Some of these illnesses can only cause minor damage to your trees, while others can kill them if you do nothing. It’s possible that cutting down trees is the best solution. Even though you’ve lost a tree, you’ve prevented the illness from spreading further. Some of the most prevalent tree diseases and the extensive damage they may inflict if not treated quickly are described below.

• Apple scab:

Apple scab is a fungal disease that attacks apple trees, crab apple trees, pear trees, and mountain ash trees. Infected fruit and foliage eventually become brown and black, dying of the illness. Apple scab disease causes rapid decay and should not be consumed on diseased fruits. The illness manifests as a scab-like growth on the leaves, making it simple to spot. Apple scabs seldom kill trees but can ruin crops by causing fruit rot and leaf drop.

• Powdery mildew:

There is a fungal infection called powdery mildew, and it manifests as a white powdery substance on the leaves of affected trees. Mildew spores flourish in more relaxed, shadier areas with high humidity and poor ventilation. It’s unpleasant, but it won’t hurt if you let your tree go untreated for several years. Exposing your tree to lots of light and air will help prevent powdery mildew. While moist leaves are more susceptible to fungal infections.

• Anthracnose:

Anthracnose may affect various trees and plants, but it is particularly devastating to blooming dogwood and sycamore. Infected trees suffer harm to their branches, foliage, blooms, and ultimately their fruit from the disease’s fungal prime cause.

The symptoms of anthracnose do, however, differ between species. In some cases, this might make a diagnosis hard to make. Anthracnose is characterized by many symptoms, the most prevalent of which are an early leaf drop and the development of dense clusters of branches.

• Infections of the cankers:

Trees are susceptible to various canker diseases, including the pines, maple, and willow-targeting Cystospores canker.Diseases like canker, caused by fungus or germs, spread through infected sapwood and root. The tree’s transporting system will inevitably grow congested, cutting off its water supply and nutrition. The location of the canker determines whether or not the obstruction will result in the loss of the tree. The entire tree might suffer if it becomes entangled in it and wraps around the stem. Stressed trees (from climate change, animal grazing, human interference, etc.) are more vulnerable.

• Tar spot:

Disease caused by a fungus; tar spot is frequently observed on maple trees. Infected plants will have spots or streaks across their leaves that are either yellow or black and elevated, looking much like tar. Tar spot is usually only an annoyance, but it might be slightly stressful if it prevents leaves from photosynthesizing to their full potential. Removing sick leaves after they drop in the autumn is a helpful step in disease management, as is providing consistent care to your tree throughout the year to help it withstand environmental stresses.

Conclusion:

It is essential to ensure that you provide your trees with a steady supply of water, essential nutrients,and minerals if you want them to live long and healthy lives. Yet, tree diseases may negatively impact the tree’s appearance and vitality and, if left untreated, can even result in the tree’s death.

If you’re looking for any assistance with your trees, Aesthetic Tree and Hedge Services is here to help. They offer stump grinding, tree removal, pruning, topping, planting services, and many others.