John Boyle

jboyle@citizen-times.com

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: What's the deal with the extreme pruning of mature trees around here? We've seen some fine trees — really big trees — cut back, amputated practically to the trunk. And not just when located under power lines either. Like right out in the front yard. Why do people do this? Is it harmful?

My answer: Well, nothing is quite as lovely as a tree that's been hacked nearly to death and no longer can offer any shade.

Real answer: In talking with folks over the years who do this, most wanted to eliminate the possibility of a tree or its limbs falling on property — for eternity, apparently. Also, a lot of folks do this themselves to save money.

And yes, it is terrible for trees, which we'll get to in a moment.

First, let's go to Eric Muecke, a registered forester with the North Carolina Forest Service, who has seen plenty of unfortunate tree topping. He cited the above-referenced reasons for topping — "It’s kind of a do-it-yourself attitude where people feel they can do it themselves if they have a ladder, a chain saw and are not afraid of heights."

But Muecke also referenced some fascinating history.

"Basically, it’s a very old style of maintaining trees that is popular and was popular in Europe," Muecke said. "The history of it goes back to when they would build walls around cities and they would have limited room for trees, so they would do pollarding. That would keep the tree small, and it would provide them with a continual little harvest of the small branches that grew, for heating and for cooking."

European immigrants to America brought the practice here. While it does make some sense, it's pretty horrible for trees, easily curtailing their lifespans by 10-20 years, making them weaker and, ironically, more susceptible to wind and storm damage, Muecke said.

"You will ruin the tree and you will shorten the life of the tree," he said. "If the thought is to reduce storm damage, you’re really increasing the chance of storm damage."

Sprouts do grow from the cut limbs quickly, but the point of growth "is basically rotting out the area underneath," so once the sprouts get bigger they tend to break, Muecke said, adding that they're essentially growing out of decaying wood. If you look at trees that have been topped multiple times, the tops are often hollow.

Topping also deprives a tree of much of its leaf canopy, which is the energy-generating mechanism. That leads to undue stress and more susceptibility to insects and disease.

He offered two resources for tree owners:

• The U.S. Forest Service Tree Owner’s Manual available at www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/uf/tom/090202_tom_lr.pdf

• The International Society of Arboriculture, Trees are Good Website, www.treesaregood.com/treeowner/treeownerinformation.aspx

The U.S. Forest Service site notes that topped trees "can regain their original height quickly, often in two years. "A topped tree will require more attention than a properly pruned tree because of the fast growing, loosely attached shoots that form."

Also, it's a myth that topping "invigorates a tree," as topping "immediately injures a tree and starts it on a downward spiral."

Alison Arnold, an extension agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Asheville, said pollarding is an accepted practice in Europe, but arborists there start very early on in the tree's life with the technique. Overall, it is not a good idea for trees here, especially mature trees, and she echoed all of Muecke's points about the dangers of topping.

Muecke and I both noticed that the Town of Fletcher, where I happen to live, has recently hacked a lot of its maple trees along Hendersonville Road. I'm not going to lie -- "downtown" Fletcher has succumbed to some real ugliness in places, including graffiti and empty buildings, and this latest tree hacking is not helping with the aesthetics.

Town Manager Mark Bieberdorf confirmed that the trees were topped, describing it as a method where the whole tree is trimmed and "it looks like the whole top of the tree was cut off."

The trees "had grown exceedingly tall and had bushed out onto the sidewalks," Bieberdorf said, adding that these types of trees were a poor choice for areas so close to the road and sidewalks.

"In reality, they should’ve been trimmed several years ago," he said. "They had grown to the point that they were blocking the street lights, banners and were encroaching upon the sidewalk. Not to mention the sight distance problems that they had created at some intersections and driveways."

He also said "selective trimming procedures would not have worked on our location." Again, as a resident of the town who's familiar with the trees before they got hacked, I respectfully disagree.

This was a poor choice that will have detrimental long-term effects, in my opinion. Hey, I pay taxes there, so I get to spout off.

At any rate, moving forward, the town will "try to prevent the amount of trimming that was done by pruning on a more regular basis," he said. The town also has a plan for "streetscape improvements" along Hendersonville Road.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. To submit a question, contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com