Tag Topping

In late winter and early spring, it is common to see crape myrtles in North Texas with all of their canopies and upper branches removed, leaving only standing trunks. Understandably called “topping,” as the top of the tree is removed, this practice leads to twiggy new growth from the ends of the trunks. A year later, the new growth is removed again, and the process repeats itself. While crape myrtles are the most common victims of topping, larger trees can be topped as well. Any trees that survive topping exhibit similar growth patterns of uneven, thin branches growing from larger trunks. The practice of topping trees often comes from an uninformed and misguided attempt to avoid limb breakage, stimulate new growth, and control the size and shape of trees, but topping trees is bad for the trees and causes more problems than it solves.

Why Do People Top Trees?

There are several reasons that people may want to top their crape myrtles or other trees:

• Aesthetics
  • Some people want to reduce the size of a tree for visibility
• Safety
  • It may be thought that removing all of a tree’s branches eliminates risk
• Simplicity
  • It can be much easier just to remove the top of a tree entirely, rather than use proper pruning techniques
• Habit
  • In communities where the practice is common, tree topping can become the accepted norm
• Convenience
  • Without large, spreading limbs, trees do not drop as many leaves, flowers, or seeds
• Turf grass
  • Removing a tree’s canopy greatly reduces the shadow of a tree that may affect turf growth
• Growth Stimulation
  • It is a common misconception that topping a flowering tree causes increased bloom production

Whatever the motivation, however, tree topping is never the best method to achieve the desired outcome, and is actually counterproductive in most cases.

What are Alternatives to Topping Trees?

Depending on your goal, there are different proper pruning techniques that can help shape your trees.

Reducing size

• Raising the canopy and removing upper or outer branches can go a long way toward reducing the overall size of a tree
  • While limb stubbing is not recommended, in certain cases, limbs can be trimmed back from the ends
• Consider replacing oversized trees with species that are better suited to the location and don’t require drastic reshaping

Reducing risk

• Removing all the branches of a tree is not the best way to reduce risk
  • Removing the canopy exposes the trunk to more light and heat, which can cause sunburn and sun scald, both of which can lead to decay and tree deathIn most cases, removing dead, dying, or broken limbs and thinning the canopy’s interior growth is sufficient to prepare the tree for high winds or severe storms
  • Consult an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified Arborist for an evaluation of your trees’ specific needs

What is the Best Way to Trim a Crape Myrtle?

Whether you are looking for beautiful flowers, a particular canopy shape, or less maintenance effort, crape myrtles, just like all trees, can thrive with proper, natural pruning. While it may take some time to rehabilitate a crape myrtle or other tree that has been topped, even mature trees can be brought back to their natural beauty and health. Consult an ISA Certified Arborist for guidance on your trees’ specific needs.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees (even the topped ones!) and we love our community! While it may be common in North Texas to top crape myrtles each year, proper, natural trimming is the right choice in any situation. Contact us today to have one of our arborists take a look at your crape myrtles or other trees that may have been topped in the past so that we can help you bring them back to their natural beauty!

Like other trees and shrubs, crape myrtles in North Texas are not adapted to hard freezes like we had in February 2021. However, crape myrtles are hardier than many other area plants, and should recover completely, although they may bloom a little late.

Don’t Give Up on Your Crape Myrtles: WAIT!

Like with live oaks, we will have to wait a few weeks to know how crape myrtles handled the freezing weather. Even though they survived the freeze, the cold temperatures were a shock to the trees’ systems, and recovery takes time.

• We expect to see crape myrtles budding and leafing out 2 to 4 weeks later than usual.
  • May be less new growth and fewer buds
  • If the trees were healthy before the freeze, should recover completely.
• We recommend leaving new sprouts growing from the base until the crape myrtle is blooming normally.
  • If there are dead trunks, these sprouts can grow to replace them.
• Keep an eye out for common crape myrtles health issues as the trees recover from the freeze:
  • Aphids
  • Crape myrtle bark scale
  • Sooty mold
  • Powdery mildew
• If crape myrtles have shown no new growth by the end of April:
  • Remove all dead wood down to the highest level of living tissue
  • May need to trim down to ground level and let sprouts replace all trunks
• If your crape myrtles survived the frost, consider a plant health care program to keep them healthy
• Finally, as always, DO NOT TOP CRAPE MYRTLES!
  • For guidance on proper trimming, consult an ISA Certified Arborist

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our community! The freezing weather in February 2021 will continue to have effects on area trees for years to come. Frost-damaged trees will need extra care and attention. We offer conprehensive plant health care programs that help stressed trees get the nutrients they need and fight pests. Our staff of ISA Certified Arborists are available to assess your trees and see if they need immediate action, or if it is best to wait and see how they recover. For questions about crape myrtles or any other tree, get in touch!

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers, and we hate to see a beautiful crape myrtle topped and turned into a twiggy mess. Even if a crape myrtle has been topped for many years, it can be restored through a simple care program. Proper trimming, combined with allowing new growth to mature, can go a long way toward repairing the damage caused by topping. Fertilization can also help with encouraging healthy growth. Ask a certified arborist to evaluate and make recommendations for your specific trees.

Tree trimming or tree pruning in Texas is generally best when done after temperatures cool off in the fall and before buds begin to grow in the spring. Removal of dead, broken, or damaged limbs can be done anytime. The worst time to trim a tree is in the spring just after it has budded out. The tree will already have used its energy to start new growth, and will not be able to recover from the trimming as well or as quickly. At Texas Tree Surgeons, tree trimming is the most common service we provide, and is essential to maintaining health and safety in our urban forest.

Why is it best to trim trees in the fall and winter?

Trimming trees at the right time is crucial to keeping them healthy. During the fall, the tree’s internal systems begin to slow, as it prepares to go dormant (similar to hibernation in animals). Entering a dormant state helps the tree survive the winter cold, frost, and ice. As the weather cools, the water in tree tissue begins to be converted to starch, which insulates cellular tissue against freezing damage. During this period of dormancy, trees are able to heal the wounds made from pruning before the stressors of spring, like disease and insects, arrive.

Proper trimming is not just a matter of timing, however, but also of technique. Trimming your trees at the proper time in the fall or winter cannot compensate for the damage done through over-trimming, lion-tailing, or topping. Even though a dormant tree can better withstand these damaging types of trimming, the overall health of the tree may be irreparably harmed.

Why is it important to use a company with certified arborists to trim your tree?

Every tree is different. Two trees of the same species planted next to each other may still react differently to their surroundings. Having an ISA Certified Arborist examine your trees before trimming is crucial to ensuring proper care. In a yard with different tree species, there may be a range of trimming needs. A certified arborist can assess each individual tree to make the best recommendations for trimming, taking into account species, environment, disease or pest activity, and the tree’s natural life cycle. Improper trimming at the wrong time of year can cause a tree’s health to decline substantially. A certified arborist’s knowledge of tree biology and trimming best practices leads to the best trimming recommendations for your trees.

Is there a best time to trim a particular species of tree?

While it is generally best for all trees to be trimmed in the fall and winter, it is important to be aware of issues particular to a given species.

Oaks:

• The best time to trim oak trees in Texas is in the fall and winter.
  • It is critical to avoid trimming during oak wilt season (February-July) if at all possible.
  • Live oaks typically do a leaf exchange in late winter so it is better to trim them in late fall or early winter.
• Dead and broken branches can be removed at any time.

Maples:

• The best time to trim maples is fall and winter.
  • Pruning in the early spring can lead to sap leaking from the pruning cuts.
  • Maple trees are one of the few trees that have fall color in Texas so pruning after the leaf drop is usually preferred.

Elms:

• Elms are hardy and native to Texas. They are typically the first to get their leaves and the first to lose their leaves.
  Trimming elms in the fall and in the winter is best to avoid sap leaking.
• Elms are prone to rotting where large pruning cuts are made or poor puts are made so conservative trimming is best.
• In the parts of North America where Dutch elm disease is present, elms should be trimmed before March.

Crape Myrtles:

• Crepe Myrtles produce flowers on each year’s new growth.
  • Trimming in the fall leads to more blossoms in the spring.
  • Trimming in the late spring will reduce the number of flowers the following year.
• For the health of the crape myrtle, the best time to trim is winter.
  • Topping crape myrtles is never a good practice.

Bradford Pears:

• Bradford pears can be safely trimmed at any time.
• Proper structural pruning when needed is very important for Bradford pears because their natural growth patterns often lead to weakness at branch joints.

Fruit Trees:

• Structural pruning for fruit trees should be done in the winter.
• Trimming for fruit production should be done just after bloom in early spring.

At Texas Tree Surgeons, we love trees and we love our customers. In the winter, it can be easy to forget about our trees, as their leaves are gone and we spend less time outside. However, remembering that winter is the best time to trim trees can lead to healthier, more beautiful trees in the summer. We are always happy to come out and assess your trees for their particular trimming needs. When tree trimming must be done out of season, we are able to make sure that best practices are followed to minimize any negative effects. One of our certified arborists can make personalized recommendations based on your trees. Get in touch today!