Some of the worst practices that are all too common include: topping, tipping and lion’s tailing. Besides making for an ugly plant, these are all very harmful to the long-term health and viability of your trees.

There is no good reason to top a tree. It significantly depletes the resources of a tree, while creating a very dangerous situation. As new branches grow out of the topped stubs, the exposed wood begins to rot. When the new branches become larger, you will find them attached to a rotten or hollow base. There is not enough strength to hold up the large branches and they will crash down in a few years. For more information on topping, please read this article from the Trees are Good web site.

Lion’s tailing refers to a practice where all interior branches are removed leaving the outer-most ends with a large “tuft” of leaves and small branches (picture the tail of a lion…). While this does not look as bad as topping, it does look much worse than a well-maintained tree. Lion’s tailing also creates a hazardous condition. All of the weight is concentrated on the ends of the branches. The majority of the new growth will also be added to these bushy ends. A tree’s branching structure is designed to support evenly distributed weight. When a tree has been lion’s tailed, much more stress is placed on the branch, making breakage more likely.