Topped a maple vs let it grow - two different results entirely

Got called to a property in Portland last month. Homeowner wanted me to top a 40 year old maple because it was shading her garden. I explained it's bad practice, she insisted. Six weeks later that tree is sprouting weak shoots everywhere. Another job I did a proper crown reduction on a similar maple and it looks fine after three months. Who here still deals with homeowners begging for topping?

2 comments

2 Comments

sam_murphy3913d ago

I read a study from the University of Minnesota last year that said topped maples can lose up to 50% of their structural integrity within 5 years... all those weak shoots just snap off in a good storm. The homeowner's garden is gonna get more shade than she bargained for when those limbs start dropping.

graceblack13d ago

Here is the other thing nobody is talking about with topping maples. That weak regrowth isn't just a structural risk for storms, it actually creates a ton of extra maintenance work every single year. Those pencil thick sprouts are going to need thinning out constantly or the tree turns into a giant bush on a stick. Plus all those open wounds from the topping cuts are an open invitation for decay and disease to get in. So the homeowner traded a little shade for a tree that will cost her more time and money over the next decade than just doing a proper reduction in the first place.