Stop topping oaks and calling it pruning, saw a crew butcher one on Maple St today

Watched a crew top a 60 foot red oak down to 15 foot stubs this morning, left every branch with a hat rack cut that'll rot straight into the heartwood. How do you even have a conversation with homeowners who think that's proper care when climbers on this sub know it's just a death sentence over 5 years?

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hunt.quinn11d ago

Hell yeah I got a story about this. Buddy of mine bought a house with a big old silver maple out front, real beauty. Previous owner had "trimmed" it a few years back, which turned out to be topping it down to nothing but ugly knuckles. By the time my buddy moved in, the whole top was nothing but dead sticks and the trunk had these huge cracks running down it. Cost him three grand to have it taken down last spring, and the stump grinder guy said the roots were already rotting out under the driveway. That tree was maybe 10 years from falling on his roof anyway. Folks think they're saving money by hacking it back, but they're just paying later with a bigger bill and a dead tree. It's heartbreaking, honestly.