Can we talk about how crown reduction is overused?

I saw a 60 foot oak get hacked back to 45 feet last week near Atlanta, and the owner thought it looked great. Has anyone else noticed arborists pushing reduction cuts when a simple thinning would keep the tree healthier and just as safe?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellyr182d agoMost Upvoted

Oh yeah that's rough. I had a local crew do a crown reduction on a big old live oak in my backyard a couple years ago, they took off way more than I asked for and it looked like a hat rack for months. What finally worked for me was I started going out with the crew before any cuts and literally taping off the branches I wanted left alone, and I told them to only do selective thinning on the outer canopy, no more than 10 percent. The tree bounced back way faster and actually looked natural instead of butchered.

noah2481d ago

My neighbor paid $2k for a crown reduction on his oaks last spring and honestly they look better than ever. I think it depends on the tree and the person doing the work yeah some hack jobs happen but a proper reduction can save a tree that's getting too heavy on one side or blocking a roof. Thinning alone doesn't always fix structural problems.