More in Outdoors Arguably the biggest mistake you can make is
with "topping" your tree. It's considered something of a dirty
word in horticulture circles. Topping means cutting a tree back
so severely that only the stumps of large branches are left.
It's done in an attempt to control the size of the tree. This
stresses the tree because it takes away the leaves, its food
sources. The tree will send out many smaller branches in an
effort to produce more leaves quickly but they are not as strong
as the previous branches and can break off easily in the wind.
Tree topping also results in a pretty unattractive tree. The way
to properly bring a tree down in height is to make your cuts at
a joint. A joint is the place where either a leaf or a branch
grows out from the stem. Cut down the tallest branches at a
joint, which will reduce the height significantly, instead of
leaving a bunch of stubs. This way, the tree will be able to
heal itself, growing a new branch in that spot. If you have a
dense tree that's completel