Tree Lopping Brisbane Northside
This term is often substituted for ‘tree pruning’, however in the industry, tree lopping is considered bad practice engaged in by rogue operators and unskilled property owners.
People may wish to ‘lop’ a tree if it disturbs their view, if leaf droppage is an issue, or if they generally dislike trees.
It is considered bad practice because it does not consider the integrity of the tree and what it needs to survive, the way it is likely to grow back (if at all), and the overall resultant appearance of the tree in question.
Most Brisbane trees go into extreme shock if more than one fifth of the branches and foliage is removed at once. Some can handle harder cut backs, but these species are few and far between.
The problem is that the tree’s leaves are what collect the sunlight to transform into chlorophyll which feeds the tree. It would be like a person; if we were to suddenly halve our daily intake of food, we would be firstly very distressed, then get very hungry and rush about trying to source a ready supply of nourishment for ourselves. The tree also reacts by suddenly putting on a great deal of growth that sprouts from the remaining branches and trunk, called ‘epicormic’ growth. This growth is quite ugly where you have a stumpy base with lots of little thin shoots coming off; they look quite disproportionate. Because the origin of this growth is not the normal way of twigs dividing and then forming strong branches that originate from a sound base, the ensuing growth is weak and much more prone to breaking off in high winds, particularly as they grow larger and become heavier putting more strain on weak joints. Again, if we compare the phenomena to humans it would be like having a limb with weak ligaments that give way easily when under pressure. Lopping a tree is ugly and leads to instability.
Brisbane Northside property owners may think they are saving money by cutting back a tree to their desired height all at once; this is a false economy. The problems that lopping a tree can create potentially leads to unimagined expenses when weak limbs fall on valuable property or worse still, people underneath, or the tree dies, leaving a large ugly stump to deal with.
A better approach is to gradually cut back the tree over several seasons so that it can adjust to the changes and grow back healthily.
At Teja’s Trees North Brisbane we can appraise your tree and provide the right advice for your needs and the tree’s long term health, safety and beauty.