Editor, The Commercial:
Topping trees should be a crime. It wounds the trees and opens the tree up for disease, insects and decay. The tree responds by sprouting a bunch of new branches that are weakly attached so more incline to fall off the tree and cause damage.
For some reason people can’t let go of the idea that topping trees is the answer. They frequently pay a lot of money to have people basically kill their trees thinking they are doing a good thing. Some tree pruners are encourage this idea. Hopefully it is because they don’t know any better and not because it is easier and faster to top a bunch of trees than it is to come in and correctly prune the dead and damaged branches.
It isn’t just the people who prune trees. I have heard storied of tree professionals that did know what they were doing having their clients insist they top their trees, because that’s the way their grandpa and their father did it so everyone knows it is the right way.
Trees are intregal part of the beauty of Pine Bluff and as such should be treated with respect.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Trees are attractive and provide shade, energy saving, erosion control and pollution control. Their presence has been even proven to cut back on crime.
Pine Bluff and Jefferson County need their trees. I implore you as individual citizens not to waste good money having healthy trees mangles and murdered.
I recommend doing some research on www.treesaregood.org/treecare and www.arborday.org before you let someone talking you into topping your wonderful old trees. The Jefferson County Extension office, 500 S. Idaho St., also has leaflets on the correct pruning and maintenance of trees.
Paula Knighton
White Hall