Got Nature? Blog

If a bad haircut was fatal, you would be very choosy about your hairstyle. But each year, hundreds of homeowners have their trees pruned by topping, a horticultural “bad haircut” that shortens the life of the tree and leads to greater expense later.Tree care professionals and university experts caution tree owners that topping a tree is the kiss of death in many instances. This damaging pruning practice can shorten the life span of trees significantly, and the damage is long-term; in some instances, the beheaded tree will die within a few years, if not less.

Many people don’t realize topping is a poor practice because trees can be remarkably effective in overcoming the damage in the short term – some can take years to die, a few can even withstand multiple toppings. So the real damage is not easily noticed by the tree owners until the trees can no longer survive such a drastic removal of canopy.

People see trees leaf out year after year and give little thought to the actual effect of the topping. The most immediate effect is a reduced leaf mass, or crown. This smaller number of leaves reduces the amount of energy the tree manufactures to sustain itself. Less energy causes the roots to die back as well. This creates a tree that is less able to supports itself or withstand heavy winds.

The haircut analogy breaks down when you look at what happens after the tree topping occurs. Whereas hair just continues to grow out from the same follicle, branches do not continue to grow out from the same growing point. Tree limbs sprout from previously dormant buds just below the internodal pruning cut. This causes an unhealthy flush of growth near the end of the poorly pruned branch that is typically thin and weakly attached to the tree’s main growth stems.

These weak limbs are easily ripped from the tree in storms, causing damage and creating a liability for property owners. It has been long known that tree topping is harmful to trees, yet the practice of tree topping continues. Reputable arborists will work with a tree’s natural growth habit when pruning and understand the importance of pruning and tree health. Proper pruning can extend the life of a tree and reduce ongoing homeowner expense; however, once a tree is topped, it will require much more frequent pruning to prevent branch failure, costing the owner more money.

The best advice is to hire reputable tree care companies that have recognized qualifications and insurance. Ask the company for credentials from professional organizations such as the International Society of Arboriculture and the Tree Care Industry Association to prove their knowledge and abilities. Also ask for references of where they have pruned trees at other properties to see what their work looks like after the project. A homeowner wouldn’t hire a plumber or carpenter without references, so why shouldn’t an important asset to your property like trees not receive the same consideration?

Trees are a valuable resource and asset to your property that helps make our environment cleaner, healthier and a more beautiful place to live. Those trees deserve better than a life-shortening bad haircut.

Resources
What’s Wrong with Topping Trees? The Education Store
Trees and Storms, The Education Store
First Aid for Trees, Indiana Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Prune Your Trees​, Indiana Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University

Trees are a major part of our community environment. Although trees have been an important part of human settlements throughout history, only recently has their full value to cities and towns been recognized. Trees and green spaces play an important role in improving city living conditions and more importantly, our quality of life.

FNR Extension has a wide variety of resources to help you receive the benefits of trees.

These resources include:
– lowering annual heating and cooling costs for homes and businesses.
– planting trees for windbreaks in open areas.
– prevent soil erosion.
– improving urban drainage systems.
– improving air pollution.
– how hospital and nursing home patients benefit from trees.
– increasing wildlife.
– how trees can add to and increase real estate.
– how trees improve economic value.

Trees provide as many environmental, aesthetic, and monetary benefits as there are communities. View Urban Forestry and Arboriculture.

Check out our FNR Videos which include:
Urban Forestry at Purdue University
Underhand Chop Demonstration
Springpole

Free publication downloads at The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center. Includes:
Tree Installation: Process and Practices
Tree Pruning Essentials
Trees and Storms

Additional Resources:

Indiana Arborist Association (IAA)

The Indiana Arborist Association (IAA) strives to enhance the quality of life for Indiana residents by encouraging the planting, maintenance and preservation of trees. IAA seeks to do this by increasing public awareness of the benefits provided by well maintained trees, and promoting the advantages of working with qualified professional arborists who use current industry standards. IAA endeavors to efficiently serve the needs of its members by fostering opportunities for training and the exchange of ideas, and encouraging high ethical standards among its members and in the industry at large.​

To find an arborist near you, verify credentials and where to find more information on trees view:

International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)

Through research, technology, and education, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) promotes the professional practice of arboriculture and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees.

US Forest Service Webinars

The US Forest Service is a multi-faceted agency that manages and protects 154 national forests and 20 grasslands in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Faculty and staff in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) are engaged in environmental planning around the state. Extension programs help managers and decision-makers improve Indiana’s natural resource management and environmental planning. We deliver programs to help communities consider how to plan for their unique and life-sustaining environmental resources and provide education and technical assistance to plan commissions. Programs are developed and delivered in collaboration with the Purdue Extension Community Development Program and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Some of the programs FNR faculty and extension staff have developed in collaboration with our partners include:

American Citizen Planner – Indiana (ACP-IN)

American Citizen Planner – Indiana provides training to Indiana citizen planners who currently serve or plan to serve on area or advisory plan commissions. The program features 31 topics detailing core planning theories, practices, and processes. A comprehensive assessment and four virtual training events reinforce the content learned in the units. The program is hosted by a local Purdue Extension educator for either a county or a region.

Conservation Through Community Leadership (CCL)

Communities face many challenges, and many of these are their natural resources. The Conservation through Community Leadership program serves as a roadmap for communities tackling complex land use and natural resource management challenges. The program provides information, tools, and resources to help communities work with diverse stakeholders.

Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces (EVPS)

The Purdue University Extension program, Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces, addresses public spaces and their role in enhancing the quality of place by helping regions, communities and neighborhoods plan and prepare for a sustainable future. The Indiana-based curriculum is designed for use by decision makers and local leaders with oversight and management of community public spaces such as parks boards and planning commission members, public officials and their staff and members of organizations whose missions provide services related to programs or management of public spaces. The program provides a framework for collecting data on community assets and using that data to plan public spaces improvements.

Green Infrastructure and Hazard Mitigation

Communities face several challenges and complex decisions related to natural hazards, which are increasingly exacerbated by climate change. The program supports a collaborative community planning approach to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of existing community policies and to identify goals, motivations, and barriers for hazard mitigation planning, focusing on water resources, flooding, and green infrastructure.

Land Use

The Purdue University Land Use Team provides research-based resources and educational programs for Extension professionals, government officials, citizen planners, and residents on land use issues impacting their communities. Land Use Team efforts are underpinned by a timely and rigorous professional development system that prepares Purdue Extension professionals to effectively serve on Plan Commissions.

Rainscaping Education Program

Rainscaping is a combination of sustainable landscape design and management practices that prevents polluted runoff from reaching water bodies — directing stormwater to be absorbed by plants and soils. The program provides training and resources on rainscaping practices that can be installed in residential settings or small-scale public spaces projects.

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy for Community Planning brings resources for general renewable energy, solar and wind. This includes: community planning guidebooks for renewable energy, solar development, landowner leasing for solar, qualifications for a wind lease, wind farm impact statements and much more.

Sustainable Communities

Extension programs that support sustainable community development strategies are available to communities throughout Indiana. These support decision makers with evaluating, prioritizing, and implementing sustainability strategies for their communities.

​This full-color, soft-cover book brings together a lifetime of sawmill experience and technical training to help readers solve lumber manufacturing problems and save money. It includes chapters on wood quality and characteristics, softwood lumber grading, logs for fine face veneer, wood residues and potential markets, sales techniques and more. It is a comprehensive reference guide for those who manufacture and market Eastern hardwood lumber in the United States. While it’s written for owners of small, home-based lumber mills, the information is also useful for traditional lumber manufacturers.The author has spent 30 years in close association with both the hardwood lumber and veneer-producing industries, as well as with the users of hardwood products. He has participated in hundreds of plant visits, organized and conducted many educational seminars and written extensively.

This 380-page book was produced in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service.

View sample pages of the book or place an order through The Education Store, Manufacturing and Marketing Eastern hardwood Lumber Produced by Thin Kerf Band Mills.

Resources
Lumber from Hardwood Trees, The Education Store
The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center (Find apps, publications, videos and much more)

​​Daniel Cassens, Professor of Wood Products
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University