My old foreman said to never top a maple, but the new crew boss insisted it was fine

About five years back, I was on a job in Springfield removing a big silver maple. My old foreman, Pete, always drilled into us, 'You never top a maple, you'll get a mess of weak water sprouts.' The new crew boss, hired from a different company, said it was the fastest way to reduce the crown and that the sprouts were easy to manage. We topped it. Two summers later, the homeowner called us back because the tree had sent up over two dozen thick, poorly attached shoots, and one had already torn out in a storm. Now I'm stuck between the old-school rule and the newer, speed-focused method. For those who've seen both sides, which approach holds up better long term?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.felix4d ago

My buddy had a similar thing happen with a crew that topped a bunch of street trees. The city made them go back three years later to clean up what looked like a witch's broom on every trunk. The regrowth was so weak and crowded it cost them twice the time to fix it. Speed just isn't worth it when you're guaranteeing a callback and a worse problem. Pete's rule might seem old school, but it's about not creating future hazards.

west.claire3d ago

Hold up, you're missing the client's side. Sometimes the budget is just gone, or a storm made the tree a real danger right now. A proper fix can cost triple, and not everyone has that. A quick top buys time, maybe years, before they need to save up for a full removal. That witch's broom mess? It's ugly but it's not falling on a car tomorrow. For some people, that's the whole point.