(Scripps Howard)Surely you've noticed the sudden and drastic change in a tree's appearance in your neighborhood. One day it's a beautiful specimen in its natural form. An hour or so later, a chainsaw ...

Hiring experienced tree and landscaping companies can help avoid tree topping. Check for reviews and certifications, such as ...

Have you ever witnessed trees being pruned by men with a truck, ladder, and a chainsaw? For everyone who needs a young tree pruned to produce a good structure (which is very important for live oaks) ...

In my last column I mentioned a “topped” street tree. I’d like to use this column to write more explicitly about the misguided practice of tree-“topping”, why it is so bad, and what the proper ...

We've all seen it happen: the fellow down the street gets his big tree trimmed and suddenly there is hardly anything left but the trunk and an ugly-looking top. The owner had the tree topped. Plant ...

Tree maintenance is essential for a safe and beautiful yard, but one of the most common trimming techniques could actually be shortening the life of your trees. "Topping" is the practice of cutting ...

Q: Many times I have read, “Never top a tree!” I have also read that we should keep fruit trees at 8 feet for easy picking. And some experts recommend keeping avocado trees at 11 feet. Either I don’t ...

Topping a tree is one of the worst pruning practice that can be done. Topping is drastically shortening all of a trees branches without regard to where the pruning cut is made. Unfortunately, I saw ...

Question: An arborist offered to “top” my shade tree that has grown so large that branches touch the house. Should I have him do that? Answer: “Topping” is cutting all tree branches back to an ...

As trees grow and reach heights which many consider to be unsafe, tree owners would often top their trees by reducing the tree size. This is by heading back most of the large, live branches from the ...