Used to top oak trees like a fool until a 30-foot limb came through my neighbor's shed

After that oak dropped a limb and cost me $2,700 in damage claims, I finally started actually reading the research on proper crown reduction versus topping, so who else had to learn this lesson the hard way?

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abby_martin2811h ago

That bit about "proper crown reduction versus topping" really hits home for me. I was exactly like you, thought I was doing the tree a favor by chopping off the top. Then I had a red oak drop a heavy limb on my back porch one summer, no storm or anything. It crushed part of the railing and tore up some siding. After that I started looking into why it happened and found out topping actually makes trees grow weak branches that break off easier. Now I only do crown reduction cuts that keep the tree's natural shape and remove weight from the ends of big limbs. Your insurance story is basically the same as mine, it's a hard lesson when you see that deductible come out of your own pocket.