Taking top the off trees

I just wondered..

Can you keep trees small and shrubby by taking the top out?

I have been looking for trees to get a bit of privacy in the garden, and some of them grow just a bit too tall. If I got, say a Kashmir Rowan or an ordinary rowan, can you take the top out to keep it smaller?

I don't know much about trees so wondered if anyone could advise?

 

When we planted the trees in our field, a lot of the tops went missing when they were about shoulder height, we have no idea why. Anyway, the trees may be a bit bushier but they are still high as well so I don't think it does work in gerneral but I could be completely wrong! lol

 

Hi Victoria Plum

The short answer is "yes, but with added complications."

Let me explain:
The tip of the main leader of a tree houses a special collection of stem cells called the apical meristem. The apical meristem regulates lateral growth of the tree and supresses it in favour of growing upwards instead of outwards. This is known as apical dominance. When you remove the growing tip you also remove the apical meristem and the supressive apical dominance, thereby letting all lateral branches suddenly grow - hence why you get bushy trees when the top is cut off.

However, even with the tip cut iff the tree still needs and wants to grow upright, so normally a lateral bud near the top of the tree will take over as dominant leader, supress all the other branches and the tree will continue to grow upwards again. So removing the top only stunts the trees growth for a short while, before carrying on again, but it can be bushier than before.

Add to that the risk of infection from opening a wound that a tree can never truly heal and you could end up with a number of problems later on in the trees life.

Hope this answers your question without waffling on.

All the best,
Matthew

 

Treesurfer, thank you. That is really helpful. I have decided with your knowledge that it is probably best to let trees be themselves and not interfere!

It's funny, when you actually look at trees when you drive past them, even the smaller garden ones are quite large. I'm getting cold feet about planting a tree in the worry that it will take over my garden. My current thinking is a staghorn sumac - as they don't seem to take up too much ground space but they do provide a nice canopy of cover for screening.

 

They're nice, VP, but be warned; they sucker everywhere.

What about one of the acers? Slow growing, though.