Why does nobody talk about how much a topping cut actually costs the tree?

I read a study from the ISA that said topping can cut a tree's stored energy reserves by up to 75 percent in a single season, which blew my mind. I had a client in Dayton pushing me to top a 40 foot oak just to keep it off his roof, and I told him he'd be paying me again in 5 years to remove it dead. Anybody got a good way to explain this to folks without sounding like a tree hugger?

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norag558h ago

So what happens to that stored energy number when you factor in the timing of the cut? If a guy tops in spring right as the tree is pushing out new growth, is that 75 percent hit even worse than if he waited until late summer? And does the size of the tree change how fast it burns through what's left, like a 40 foot oak versus some little ornamental? Curious because the "it'll die in 5 years" line works better if I can say why the clock runs faster on bigger trees.

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