An unsatisfactory approach to tree maintenance or pruning is “topping” it. Topping is the indiscriminant removal of branches of a tree above an arbitrary height, leaving unnatural, grotesque stubs and ...

Q. Many times I have read, “Never top a tree!” I have also read that we should keep fruit trees at 8 feet for easy picking. And the avocado experts recommend keeping avocado trees at 11 feet. Either I ...

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal: Question: What's the deal with the extreme pruning of mature trees around here? We've seen some fine trees — really big ...

As Cass Turnbull told the story, “Soon after man emerged from his cave with his first cutting tool, he whacked a limb off a bush, and it felt good.” This initial act of what she termed “mal-pruning,” ...