Topping is the practice of cutting a tree’s main branches back to stubs, with no regard for where the cut lands. It’s still common because it’s fast and it looks dramatic. It’s also one of the worst things you can do to a tree.
When you remove that much of the canopy at once, the tree loses the leaves it needs to make food, and it panics. It throws out a flush of weak, fast-growing “water sprouts” attached only to the bark — far more dangerous in a storm than what you cut off. The big stub wounds can’t seal and become highways for decay.
The right way to make a tree smaller is crown reduction: shortening limbs back to a healthy lateral branch big enough to take over, following ANSI A300 standards. The tree stays structurally sound, heals cleanly, and keeps its natural form. It costs a little more in skill and time — and it’s the difference between a tree that lasts and one that becomes a liability.
If a past crew topped your tree, it’s not necessarily lost. We can often restore it over a few seasons with careful structural pruning. Ask us to take a look.