Managing Overgrown Trees Without Causing Damage

Learn how to manage overgrown trees without causing damage. Discover effective techniques for safe tree care and maintenance.

Managing Overgrown Trees Without Causing Damage

When trees become overgrown in a situation that is beyond what a property owner intended, it can create real headaches. Tree lopping can seem like the appropriate way to take drastic action. However, the wrong approach can create more problems than ever before.

Why Trees Outgrow Their Space

Most of the situations involving overgrown trees happen because of poor planning. Trees planted in an inappropriate location eventually become a problem when they reach their full size. What was good tree selection five or ten years ago may no longer be appropriate.

Trees don’t stop growing. As living organisms, they have a natural growth pattern of which they will follow regardless of whatever structures might be close to them.

The Topping Problem

Topping or severe lopping of branches is the worst approach to managing the size of trees. However, it is also the most common. Topping involves cutting back main branches or top branches to stubs and allowing them to grow unchecked. Trees rarely recover from this type of treatment. The growth that returns is often more dangerous than what was there before.

Proper Professional Approaches

Those in the tree lopping business are well aware of the stark difference between proper management and damaging a tree. Proper management follows arboricultural standards. These standards have the goal of managing the size of a tree without damaging it or threatening its health and structural integrity.

Professional services for tree lopping brisbane understand the difference between proper management and damage. They work within arboricultural standards rather than just cutting whatever seems too big. The goal is managing size while preserving tree health and structural integrity.

Crown Reduction

Crown reduction describes any process that reduces the size of a tree without destroying its structure. The crown reduction process involves cutting back individual branches to a lateral branch that will continue its growth.

Cutting back branches is the first part of the crown reduction process. The best approach to reducing the size of a tree is to work with the tree’s architectural pattern to encourage growth in certain directions and manage overall size.

Does Timing Matter?

Most trees benefit from this process during their dormant season when they are not actively growing. Most, but not all.

Sometimes the size of a tree is not a problem throughout their entire canopy. If structural branches or those that are a hazard are targeted for removal, the size of the entire tree does not have to be reduced.

Location of Cuts

Crown reduction cuts must be made outside the branch collar–these are the tissues on a tree branch where it joins another branch or the trunk. Cuts made too close to the collar or stubs left behind don’t allow trees to heal themselves properly.

Root Pruning Could Destabilize Trees

Overgrown trees often have root systems that cause their own issues on properties. This is much more easily assessed than addressing the root problem.

As essential as roots are to a tree, extreme care has to be taken in addressing any issues related to roots. The major roots of a tree give structural support to them. It is important not to confuse root pruning with structural root pruning.

Tree stability hinges on their root systems. When the root system is not established properly, or if it is cut back too far, a tree could fall over completely. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing roots near structures. Sometimes working around them is a more appropriate approach than trying to cut some of them back.

Recognizing When Removal Makes Sense

Some situations call for removing trees entirely rather than working around this situation. When a tree is fundamentally wrong for a particular situation, it might not be worth spending money to try to manage its size.

There are all kinds of scenarios where removal of trees makes sense. A homeowner might be better off with a large tree right next to their house. Trying to manage the size of a tree may be more expensive than removing a whole tree and starting fresh.

Getting Expert Assessment

Before doing anything drastic to overgrown trees, it is important to have a proper assessment done by someone experienced in tree lopping like an arborist. Something that seems like a straightforward task might need to involve a different approach once all factors are considered.

The goal of any approach taken should be to manage the size of a tree without sacrificing all of its health and value as an asset for properties. If this cannot be achieved, then it is important to know as soon as possible so time and money is not wasted on something that never works out well anyway.