10/25/2026
A truck pulls up after a storm: "Cut the tree back hard, make it safe." In 5 years it's taller, and its shoots snap in wind.
That offer is topping. The saw stops each big limb at a stub, the tree throws up shoots below every cut, and every stub decays. It's a haircut with a chainsaw, and no arborist prescribes it. On a crape myrtle, people call it crape murder.
Topping puts a heading cut on every big limb, a cut in the middle of the limb where no branch can take over. Stephen, one of our ISA Certified Arborists, found heading cuts from an earlier pruning on a big red oak. Decay ran back into the limbs.
Swipe through all 6, then look up at your own tree. Start with the big limbs. If they end in stubs with shoots crowding below each one, somebody topped it.
Free arborist consultation. Our arborist walks the tree and tells you what it needs and why. Book online at https://jtetrees.com/prune-cuts-fb or give us a call at 972-962-9640.