Tree topping involves indiscriminately cutting back a tree’s canopy with little to no regard for natural structure or proper pruning techniques.

On Wednesday, I traveled to Billings for the Montana Nursery and Landscape Association’s annual convention called the Green Expo. One of the presenters, Brian Kempf, the founding director of the Urban ...

As spring approaches, many of us will reach for the pruners or contact a tree care company to have our shade trees pruned. Pruning can improve tree health, safety and longevity by removing dead, ...

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

Like all good things, trees need to be nurtured and maintained. And for many Southern Californians, a not uncommon sight of maintenance we've seen takes the dramatic form of trees having their ...

You value independent local news, so become a sustainer today to power our newsroom. Which is why a rise here in Southern California of a practice known as "topping" is worrying arborists and others.

Most homeowners think they're doing their trees a favor when they trim branches flush against the trunk. It looks cleaner, more professional even. Many homeowners who prune their own trees think this ...

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 the avocado experts recommend keeping avocado trees at 11 feet. Either I ...