Can You Top a Pine Tree to Make It Thicker?

To Top or Not

• While pines tolerate proper pruning well, they don’t take kindly to topping, which ruins their growth habit. Topping is just what it sounds like: removing the tops of trees. This can mean taking off the top of the large central trunk, or removing all of the upper primary limbs -- also called scaffold branches -- in a tree’s canopy. It is also referred to as heading, stubbing and dehorning. When trees are young, topping is usually not an issue. Typically the term refers to the removal of large sections of the upper canopy of mature trees. However, since only the outermost foliage on pines will regrow, it is possible to top even a very young tree, which may not be a good thing to do.

Consequences of Topping

• The chief danger of topping a tree is that it ruins the tree's form. It is safe to cut within the area where foliage is growing because the pine will regrow at that point. However, past that point -- in the area where it is only bare wood -- the pine will be unable to regenerate, leaving only an ugly stick. Other hazards of topping include jeopardizing the health of the tree, injuring bark, reducing the tree’s ability to create energy for itself through its photosynthesizing foliage, weakening remaining branches and opening the tree to infection through large wounds.

Scrawny Pines Get Pinched

• If you want a bushier pine tree, pinch the tree's candles -- not for good luck but to encourage thicker growth. First wait until spring when the tree puts out new growth. This growth is also called “candling,” a term taken from the lighter-colored foliage that appears all over the tree at the tips of branches. Pinching the candles in half will encourage thicker growth of your pine, but be sure to break off the candle with a pinch of your fingers, not a sharp tool - the latter will leave it brown and unappealing. It's the same principle followed by those who tear rather than cut lettuce that will be stored.

Pruning Precautions

• If you need to remove branches because of disease or damage, you can prune any time of year. Prune to the next side branch or to the base of the tree’s trunk just outside the branch collar; pruning only halfway along a stick or branch will leave an ugly stick that cannot conceal itself with new growth. When pruning, especially for disease, disinfect your tools with rubbing alcohol between each cut to avoid spreading infection.