Overheard a guy at the lumber yard say something about topping oaks that made me cringe

I was picking up a load of arborist supplies at the local yard in Des Moines last Thursday and heard some weekend warrior telling his buddy you have to top oaks to keep them from getting too tall. I almost dropped my chainsaw bar. That kind of thinking is why I get called to clean up storm damage on trees that were butchered 5 years prior. Has anyone else run into people who still think topping is the right call?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jason1mo ago

Heard a guy at Home Depot last summer telling someone to "just cut the top off" a maple and I had to walk away before I said something I'd regret lol. People really think trees are like hedges you can just buzz down and they'll be fine.

grace4191mo ago

Yikes, yeah I definitely would have had to walk away too. I once tried giving my backyard elm a "trim" with a chainsaw after watching one YouTube video and lets just say it looked like a scared porcupine for the next three years. Trees are way more complicated than people realize, ain't that the truth?