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No true professional tree man, woman, or company practices or even advertises tree topping. It often kills the tree (see photo at l.)and ALWAYS makes it ugly! Topped trees suffer shock from several things, all of which can be avoided by using an experienced tree service with knowledge of proper tree trimming/pruning techniques: 1) STARVATION: Proper pruning practices remove about a quarter to a third of the tree’s crown (canopy) allowing into your yard more sunlight and reducing leaf clean-up in the fall without harming the tree. It also shores the tree up against wind by reducing its “sail.” This leaves behind enough greenery for the tree to synthesize sufficient food (photosynthesis). TOPPING removes so much of the tree that it can’t photosynthesize enough food and unbalances the tree-to-root ratio (too many cookies-not enough milk or vice/versa.) 2) SHOCK: The tree’s canopy shades its bark. Topping exposes bark to direct sunlight, often scalding it. In its struggle to survive it will produce suckers all over the exposed limbs. Ugly. 3) :INSECTS & FUNGI: Cuts made mid-limb are difficult for the tree to compartmentalize (grow protective callus). This leaves it vulnerable to wood-rotting fungi and insect infestation. 4) WEAK LIMBS: The suckers sprouting from a truncated limb grow in from just beneath the bark at the cambium. This means the heart of the sucker (twig/sprout) is not attached to the heartwood of the truncated limb. It’s simply not in the tree’s original DNA blueprint to have a sucker sprout there! This means that sucker’s gonna be WEAK! (And dangerous). (And numerous) (And UGLY). (See below). 5) RAPID “RE”GROWTH: Usually the objective(s) when topping trees is/are to control height, growth and reduce all those dang leaves in Autumn. But, alas, topping has the exact opposite effect: What results are ugly, straight and straight-up-growing weak, WEAK, I say, and far more numerous limbs AND their leaves, growing as high or higher than before topping and this “re”growth can occur in two or three years!. (Retire your rake ‘n’ buy a $700 music-making leaf- blower!) Did I mention how a topped tree is UGLY? 6) DEATH: Some trees can take it, others die. Beech trees are a good example of almost certain death when topped. But, I’ve seen mighty oaks, around since The Civil War die from topping too…it can happen to almost any tree. 7) U G L Y N E S S !! : A topped tree is a disfigured tree. UGLY! Just can’t overstate this point! LONG-RUN COSTS: Topping a tree may be cheap at first, but it’ll get you in the not-so-long run: A: Removing it when it dies. B: Other trees and shrubs dying from shock and needing replacement. C: Reduced property value (EVEN IF IT’S YOUR NEIGHBOR’S TREE, TOPPING IT CAN REDUCE YOUR PROPERTY VALUE!), both while the poor, ugly thing dies, and then when the tree (which may have been one of  the reasons you moved there in the first place) has been, at considerable expense, removed. Properly trimmed/pruned trees are healthy and beautiful. Topped trees are not. IF YOU’VE READ THE ABOVE YOU SHOULD NOW BE ABLE TO SPOT THESE ABOMINATIONS A MILE AWAY! Call a pro and please don’t top your beautiful trees! (I will be posting images of topped trees in the weeks/months to come as I continue website construction. Meanwhile, give us a call for a free evaluation/estimate and/or danger assessment. Thank you for visiting perrytreeservice.com and please visit again. Mark.) 919 – 968 – 9469