Recently we had a customer ask if he needed to replace his Red Apple tree that he lost in a storm last year to help pollinate his two Green Apple trees. Naturally, I was stumped on this, and had to go to the experts at the Morton Arboretum for answers. This is what they responded: “The only way that the loss of the red apple tree would affect the green apple tree is if the red one was the only pollinator for the green one. An apple tree needs to be pollinated by an apple tree of a different variety. If the two green apple trees are the same variety they won’t […]

Tree topping is the drastic removal, or cutting back, of large branches in mature trees, leaving large, open wounds which subject the tree to disease and decay.  Topping causes immediate injury to the tree and ultimately results in early failure or death of the tree. Other names for this malpractice include stubbing, heading, heading-back, stubbing-off, tipping, hatracking, topping-off, dehorning, lopping, or roundover. In short, topping- by any name- is the worst thing to do to the health of a tree. Crown Reduction, on the other hand, can be done without harm to the tree; and should be done by a professional Certified Arborist trained in Crown Reduction. Taken from the […]

People top trees for many reasons, all of them connected to falsehoods and misconceptions. Myth:  Topping a tree will reduce storm damage and make the tree easier to maintain. Truth: Topping Increases storm damage potential. Reasons: Resprouting is quick.  Topped trees regain thier original height within 2 to 4 years.  Many trees wind up taller than if they had not been topped. Resprouts are weak.  A topped tree’s new limbs, because of their rapid growth rate and lack of strong attachment to the tree, will break easier. Resprouts are weakly attached.  As the branch gains weight the weak attachment becomes more vulnerable to breaking.  Topped trees often have breakage at the new limbs. Dieback is […]