GET QUOTESTree Lopping: Replaced by Crown Reduction and Tree Pruning
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Edited by Ali Lijee Edited by Ali LijeeThere are many tree care services which are better for trees than tree lopping, which is now considered an outdated practice no longer performed by reputable arborists.
Want to know what’s best for your tree and why tree lopping is bad? This guide aims to inform the reader of what tree lopping is, why it should be avoided, and which services should be retained instead.
Table of contents
- What is tree lopping?
- Why is tree lopping not a good idea?
- Alternatives to tree lopping
- When is tree lopping appropriate?
- Professional tree lopping vs DIY: how to decide
- How to get tree care services near you
- Tree lopping in the UK: frequently asked questions
- Get a tree surgery quote today
What is tree lopping?
Tree lopping is the removal of large sections of a tree’s crown, specifically vertical cuts along lateral parts of the crown, i.e. the side branches. It was common before the 1990s but is now considered an outdated, crude, and inappropriate method of tree care.
Reputable tree surgeons in the UK refrain from tree lopping, but the term remains fairly widely used. With extreme exception, tree lopping is never a service which tree surgeons should provide and instead it’s typically only cowboys who offer this service to customers who may not know what sorts of harm it can cause the tree.
Since the 1990s, tree lopping has fallen out of fashion and instead reputable tree surgeons will provide services such as crown reduction to pare back tree branches.
Tree topping is similar to tree lopping, only instead of vertical cuts, topping refers to indiscriminate horizontal cuts to the top of the crown and often cutting through the trunk itself. Topping is just as bad for the tree’s vitality, safety, and leaves the tree looking awful and unnatural.
Is tree lopping the same as tree pruning?
Tree lopping is, using the most liberal sense of the word, a form of tree pruning - albeit an extreme form that tends to cause much more harm than good (if any). All pruning involves cutting limbs from a tree crown, but professional tree pruning is done selectively to encourage regrowth and to improve safety and aesthetics.
Lopping, on the other hand, typically involves reckless cuts that do not abide by BS 3998 and put the tree at risk of pests and diseases.
Why is tree lopping not a good idea?
Lopping off large branches from a tree is not good for the tree and can cause many problems, such as:
- It cuts off the tree’s ability to survive: removing large sections or entire branches carelessly also often removes leaves, which cuts down on the tree’s ability to photosynthesis and flourish.
- It puts the tree under immense shock: lopped off branches will put the tree into survival mode and it may respond by rapidly sprouting shoots from the wound, which are weaker and more dangerous than healthy regrowth.
- It leaves behind large wounds: lopping involves reckless cuts through side branches which may never properly heal, and instead of healthy growth the wound can allow pests and diseases to infest the tree.
- Higher long-term costs: many homeowners think lopping will save them money when compared to proper pruning, but the opposite is the case over the long term.
- Terrible aesthetics: a tree which has been lopped will not look natural; indeed, it will look sickly and out of proportion, with its crown too narrow on the sides.
Tree lopping is almost always a bad idea and should never be considered as proper tree care
Alternatives to tree lopping
Since tree lopping is almost never a good idea and is no longer a common practice in the UK, it’s worth knowing which other types of services you can request from a local tree surgeon or arborist instead.
Here are a few common services that can achieve similar results to lopping whilst encouraging the health and vitality of the tree:
Crown reduction
The most common method of reducing the size of a tree’s crown is through crown reduction. Rather than recklessly slicing off large parts of the side of the tree’s crown, a tree surgeon can gradually diminish the overall size of the crown, thin it out, ‘raise’ or ‘lift’ it with crown lifting/raising, or formatively prune younger trees so that their crown develops in a managed way.
Crown reduction, depending on the intended purpose, involves selective and gradual pruning of branches in accordance with British Standard 3998 and in such a manner that limbs can regrow in a healthy, controlled manner. It can help tree owners reduce the overall size of their tree’s crown (typically up to around 20% maximum per year) whilst ensuring that regrowth is safe and healthy for the tree.
Tree pruning
Crown reduction and its variants (raising/lifting, thinning, etc.) all have specific goals in mind, but tree pruning - no matter the purpose, so long as it’s selective and done properly - can help trees shed weight, increase light transmission, reduce crown size, and overall be safer for property owners.
Tree pruning typically involves deadwood removal, pruning away decayed or dead branches, removing a codominant stem so that one can take precedence, allowing for more fruitful and healthy regrowth, and giving the tree a generally beautiful and natural appearance.
Tree pruning and specific services like crown reduction are always preferable to tree lopping
When is tree lopping appropriate?
Lopping is almost never beneficial, and it should never be considered as the first option for caring for a tree. It will always lead to harming the tree or it could even kill it. Your tree will look terrible, new sprouts could be dangerous as they’re much weaker than healthy growth, and the side branches could become infested with pests and/or diseases.
There may be specific circumstances when tree lopping is appropriate, however. Notably, trees that have sustained severe weather or impact and which require emergency tree services may need to have large sections of the crown lopped off for the immediate safety of people and property underneath. Even if drastic and unhealthy, it is still preferable to tree felling because the tree may survive lopping, but it will never survive being felled.
Orchards sometimes benefit from having fruit trees hard pruned, potentially even lopped with the expectation of vigorous growth coming through with more abundant fruit. This depends on the species and a qualified arborist near you should always be consulted before hard pruning your fruit trees.
Lopping may be necessary as an immediate solution to trees with dangerous cracked branches after sustaining a severe storm or impact
Professional tree lopping vs DIY: how to decide
Professional tree surgeons and arborists in the UK should not provide tree lopping services, even if the customer thinks that they want it for their tree. If that’s the case, then tree owners should also refrain from lopping their trees themselves.
It’s a common habit that many homeowners have when it comes to tree pruning: “If I prune just a little more than necessary, I won’t have to worry about doing as much next year.” What ends up happening, in many cases, is that too much of the tree is pruned away and this can end up harming the tree. Even if lopping isn’t the intention, it may be the result of vigorous hard pruning. Restoring the tree’s vitality afterwards could be even more costly and time-consuming, so it’s almost always better to prune less than to prune more of the tree.
In summary, neither tree surgeons nor tree owners should engage in lopping a tree except in very limited circumstances, e.g. lopping dangerous branches after a severe storm or impact.
Lopping should not be performed on trees, neither by tree surgeons nor as a DIY project
How to get tree care services near you
Tree surgeons and arborists near you can provide you with professional tree care services that seek to improve the tree’s health and vitality, increase safety for people and property underneath, and leave the tree looking better overall. Sometimes, trees do need to be felled as well, even if it’s one of the last solutions a tree surgeon should resort to.
No matter whether you need a little routine or one-off pruning for your favourite old tree or you need comprehensive services for multiple trees across one or multiple properties, you’ll find great value by choosing a local tree surgeon or arborist through TreeMend.
Choose TreeMend for competitively-priced tree care services in the UK
Tree lopping in the UK: frequently asked questions
When should trees be lopped?
Trees should not be lopped. Most trees will respond with severe shock and may die from being lopped, attract pests and diseases, or become more hazardous than they were before. In limited circumstances such as in response to a severe storm, dangerously cracked branches on the side of a tree’s crown can and sometimes should be lopped off for safety reasons.
What is the tree lopping technique?
Tree lopping is by definition a crude method of making horizontal cuts along side branches of a tree crown. Generally, the technique refers to large cuts that remove too much of a branch, or all of the branch entirely.
What are tree loppers?
Tree loppers are manual tools used by tree surgeons, gardeners, and landscapers to prune small branches. They look like scissors, but with long handles. They’re better at cutting small branches than secateurs, but incapable of pruning large branches like pruning saws or poled pruners.
What is the difference between lop and prune?
Lopping refers to indiscriminately large horizontal cuts made along side branches of a tree crown, whereas pruning refers to the selective removal of dead, decaying, or diseased branches as well as healthy branches in order to promote healthy regrowth.
Why is lopping important?
Lopping may be important for safety reasons and, if all other options are exhausted, for preventing the spread of disease in a tree. While not generally preferred, lopping can be beneficial by removing large branches which have diseases spreading towards the trunk, and it can be necessary if the branch is cracked and at risk of falling anyway.
Is tree lopping hard?
Tree lopping is not only difficult, but it is also hazardous work. Although lopping refers to crude vertical cuts, this generally means having to saw through thick branches which may bear significant weight and make a powerful impact when falling down.
What is a tree lopper?
A tree lopper may refer to a manual tool used to prune small branches, but it’s often used pejoratively as a term for unqualified tree surgeons or arborists who resort to indiscriminately large pruning cuts. These cowboys may give customers the impression they’ve done a good job, but in all likelihood, they will be left with a tree that is more hazardous, uglier, and unhealthy than it was before.
Is tree lopping the same as topping?
Tree lopping is not the same as topping, but they both refer to reckless cuts made to parts (or all) of the tree’s crown. Lopping involves vertical cuts to side branches, whereas topping involves horizontal cuts to the uppermost branches and sometimes even the trunk itself.
Is tree pruning better than tree lopping?
Yes, tree pruning in accordance with British Standard 3998 is better than tree lopping. It is healthier for the tree, safer, cheaper in the long term, and leaves the tree looking better. Avoid hiring a tree surgeon who performs tree lopping and instead hire one who prunes trees in accordance with industry best practices and British Standards.
What are some of the consequences of tree lopping?
Tree lopping can have many negative consequences, including: regrowth of weaker and more hazardous branches, failure to regrow and the infestation of pests and diseases at the wound point, and an ugly appearance.
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