Just Say No to Beheading - Tree and Shrub Beheading

With our dry winter landscape and soils, it's hard not to notice the dormant, mostly lifeless landscape plants. It's like they're just calmly sitting in a mound, lying down, or standing tall - patiently waiting out the calendar. They are ready to burst forth with spring growth only to once again remind us not to worry - the short days of winter are only temporary 😊.

Are you doing more than noticing your woody plants in particular? Are you scheduling late winter pruning for the improved health of your trees and shrubs, which, by the way, is a great time to prune many of these landscape must haves? If so, please heed the caution not to let anyone (hired or yourself) engage in plant beheading.

Beheading you say, "oh dear, that doesn't sound good, what does beheading a plant mean and please, I'll join the group that says "no" to beheading.

Thank you for not beheading and more than me, your plants thank you. Let me show you what beheading looks like and explain why it's terrible for your plants. Hopefully you can prevent this from ever happening. Please tell your friends.

I covered in depth correct winter pruning in a blog a few years ago, click HERE to read. Also check out The Denver Post for my Punch List on tree and shrub pruning, click HERE.
Additional resources will be linked at the bottom, plus how to find a great arborist.

TREES:

There are other specific pruning methods like pollarding, a common practice for controlling street tree size - often done in Europe. Then there's espalier, a training technique which is common to fruit trees to keep them a certain size or for more fruit production. Pleaching is another form of pruning to an architectural style where plants weave together to form archways, hedges or tunnels - another style hip European gardeners started centuries ago.

For this blog writing - I'm referring to deciduous trees and shrubs where they are pruned to their preferred and natural form of growth.

Tree Topped Willow in MT, March 2013

Beheading or topping a woody plant is whacking off the main, vertical stem or leader and other scaffolding or surrounding tree canopy branches to a uniform height. What's left are such sorrowful stubs that any person in the know automatically reaches for a box of tissues and cries with pain and empathy for the tree and ill informed homeowner.

I say this because I've done this once too often - cried after the carnage has taken place (not on my trees). To borrow from Dr. Linda Chalker Scott at the University of Washington, the people who engage in tree topping are not certified arborists, they are tree cutters. I also call them anyone not formally trained or certified but own a ladder, a chainsaw and have a few spare hours on the weekend.

Tree topping damages trees, a lot. First, they are unattractive, they look sad. A disfigured tree isn't going to blend in nicely with neighboring trees or conifers or add value to the landscaped property, the opposite may result. 

Secondly, and most important, their ability to produce food for growth and health is greatly compromised. There's less food making with less leaves and limbs. This doesn't help the tree store up its energy reserves for down the road. The normal buds that would have been produced on properly pruned trees with new lateral growth aren't there.

Same Willow April 2015, in 2016 it was removed

What grows instead, just below the pruning cuts are dense, thin, upright branches called water sprouts or suckers. These quick growing sprouts often reach the original height of the tree prior to being topped. Water sprouts can become a hazard because they are easily damaged or broken by wind and storms.

Topped branches are slow to heal so the wounds often attract pest insects which can lead to fungal decay and if it spreads throughout the tree can be deadly. Sun can damage the more exposed trunk and remaining limbs. Heard enough of the bad? 

The good news is that I'm not seeing tree topping that often in Denver. Maybe other parts of the city or state have issues, I hope not. This tells me there must be some good oversight with the City Forester's office and other organizations that require tree pruning certification, continuing education, classes and workshops. Denver homeowners may be aware of correct tree care and know how important it is to mind them. That reminds me ... please don't forget to winter water your trees and landscape, read here if you haven't gotten the memo.

SHRUBS:

Close up of water sprouts one year after being topped

Unlike tree topping, there is quite a bit of shrub beheading going on that I've noticed. It's a shame this is happening when it can easily be avoided with just a little direction and education.

My hunch is that homeowners and property managers may be hiring experienced, certified arborists for tree pruning only. My recommendation would be to include shrub pruning if needed on the property and to make sure it's done correctly and at the right time of the year.

First, for a full primer on when and how to prune the different types of shrubs like hedges, evergreens and flowering shrubs, refer to the same link I mentioned above or click here. I go into great detail on shrub growth habits and when to prune.

The take away for this writing is to please vet your pruning professional or if you're a do-it-your selfer realize that whacking off the top branches of shrubs anytime of the year is incorrect. The lilac photos below were taken recently, they were beheaded late last fall. I walk by them often so will update with photos on their regrowth.

RESOURCES: 

From the website - ISA Trees are Good

What is a Certified Arborist?

"An arborist by definition is an individual who is trained in the art and science of planting, caring for, and maintaining individual trees. ISA arborist certification is a nongovernmental, voluntary process by which individuals can document their base of knowledge. Certified Arborists are individuals who have achieved a level of knowledge in the art and science of tree care through experience and by passing a comprehensive examination developed by some of the nation’s leading experts on tree care." 

Click HERE to search in your area for an arborist.

Colorado State University Pruning Links

Purdue Extension Tree Pruning Essentials - excellent information too and photos