La Grande Parks & Rec Warning Residents to Not Top Trees

By Garrett Christensen on Monday, December 5th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

LA GRANDE – (Release from La Grande Parks and Recreation) Myth: Topping a tree will reduce storm damage and make the tree easier to maintain. Topped trees can regain their original height in as fast as 2 years. The fast growing, extremely long and loosely attached shoots caused by topping are more susceptible to breakage and storm damage. Topping leads to decay and reduces the trees structural strength. Ultimately, a topped tree requires more attention in the future than a properly pruned tree.