this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2025
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I wouldn't call that an authoritative source, and its clearly got its own bias. I'm not suggesting all trees are well supported by the skeleton prune, but for things like crape myrtles, and specifically, species that are selected for harsh environments, like where you would plant a crape myrtle, are species that not only can survive or even benefit from a skeleton prune, but that you literally can't manage a tree into "old age" with out the kind of de-limbing that something like a skeleton prune offers in these specific environments.
Trees didn't evolve to live in parking lots or tiny strips of soil between a sidewalk and the street. We select for species that can survive these extreme conditions. Those species generally can handle/ or even thrive with a skeleton prune. The case in point is the example this post is about, the crape myrtle.
Another example is citrus trees, especially the more heavily cultivated/ more heavily selected varieties. You quite literally need to skeleton prune these trees, maybe every 5-10 years to keep them productive. This is because we've taken them far away from whatever evolutionary trajectory they are on and turned them into basically pets. They don't self prune or self manage effectively.
I’m not aware of any authority more widely respected on this topic than the International Society of Arboriculture. This is a resource for the general public, so it may look casual but I assure you it is backed by ample research.
But OK, what organization would you suggest?
There are many un-topped crape myrtles in my city and they are invariably far healthier than the topped ones. There’s no truth to the idea that they will explode if not topped.
Again, I’m not advocating for no pruning whatsoever. And there are situations where a pollard or similar heavy pruning might be acceptable, usually to avoid damage to surrounding infrastructure. But this is not done for the tree’s sake, and it is not beneficial or even healthy in the vast majority of cases.
Edit: since you didn’t like my first source for unspecified reasons, here is some published research on the topic, though it does not include crape myrtles in particular.
But I don’t see any reason they would behave differently than other trees, and my own observations match this assumption. They tolerate topping more than other species, just as they tolerate pollution, compacted soil, drought, etc. but to say it’s good for them is just not accurate.
You keep confusing topping with skeleton pruning. At no point have I argued that trees should be topped. I'm making a specific point, about a specific prune (the skeleton prune, which is NOT a topping), about specific types of trees (street trees selected for durability, and often times selectively bred to a point where they don't self prune effectively), in a specific context (the places we use those kinds of trees, like parking lots and side walks).
Because I too have extensive experience with street trees, street tree management, and also, evaluating the health of trees. And not just one at a time, but hundreds of thousands at a time. I've done projects across the US with Davie Tree, and municipalities across looking at street trees, evaluating their health, and yes, also trying to capture some specifics like primary bole and other variables like height from ground to lowest branch. I literally built the tree dataset this study here, is based on. We mapped every tree, primary bole, and lowest branch height, for every street tree in the entirety of Louisville KY.
Pruning is used to reduce the risk of catastrophic branch loss/ removal of hazard branches, and the skeleton prune slows tree growth down to further establish primary boles and reduce the overall risk of branch loss/ hazard limbs. If we don't prune street trees, they have the strong potential to become hazard vegetation which then requires significantly more extreme management, like whole tree removal.
I’m discussing topping because it’s what’s depicted in the image. I’ve never heard the term skeleton prune before now, so I can only assume this is a regional term. How is it different from topping? A quick google search only returns results related to citrus, which are generally managed with completely different goals from street or ornamental trees. And many of the results were discussing the very negative side-effects of this technique, which appears indistinguishable from topping.
You may have experience but if you were trained incorrectly that doesn’t mean much. Many tree workers rely on conventional wisdom that has been contradicted by modern research, and much harm is done to trees as a result. I’ve asked several times for sources to back up your assertions but you have provided none. All you’ve provided are your opinions which are in contradiction to all of the research, training, and experience I have learned from as an arborist.
And, speaking of conflation, stop falsely representing me as saying trees don’t sometimes need pruning. I agree, they just need pruning that is done in line with arboricultural standards. A well-pruned urban tree would be difficult for an amateur to even identify as pruned. As opposed to this kind of hack job.
Skeleton pruning is a method used on trees to maintain their structure by cutting back all shoots except the main scaffold branches and primary bole, while topping involves cutting off the entire top of a tree. Neither a skeleton prune or topping is going to be appropriate for all trees. It depends on species, context, and management goals. I would describe the prune in the picture as a skeleton prune. And for a Crepe Myrtle, its completely fine. That tree will be fine. They probably won't have to manage it again for a couple seasons, and when they come back to it in a few years, they can do basically the same prune, and it will probably be just fine.
Its aggressive, and its not pretty for a few months after it happens, but species like Crepe Myrtle, are extremely robust. Its literally why people put them in parking lots. Could you do that do an oak or a redwood? No freaking way. But this isn't an oak or a redwood. Its a fucking shit big-box store, throw-away, practically plastic Crepe Myrtle. You plant these specifically because you can management his aggressively. I
Your personal experience as an individual arborist doesn't necessarily map to how people who manage hundreds to thousands of trees need to think about these things. If you are managing a parking lot (or hundreds of parking lots), you need to not drop branches on cars or people. Its a primary consideration of the management goals. Sure they want trees, but if it came down between having trees and getting sued for having even one limb dropping on someones car, they'll pull the trees in a heartbeat. Extreme pruning, like a skeleton prune, absolutely puts the health of the tree at risk; but that's sometimes an acceptable risk to take when the alternative is not having trees at all in some environments.
Man you are insufferable.
Please point to research or other evidence that “skeleton pruning” (again, not a term I’ve ever heard in numerous conversations with many extremely experienced arborists and arboricultural researchers) reduces risk of branch drop or has any other meaningful benefits over conventional, evidence-based pruning practices. The difference from topping seems minute. How will you remove all of the leaves and branches without removing the top of the tree?
The tree in the picture has had its top removed. It’s been topped. Will it recover? Most likely. Was this good for the tree as you’ve claimed? Certainly not. Could there be situations where other management goals outweigh the health impacts on the tree? Maybe. But is this the best way to meet those goals while minimizing the impacts to health and increased future maintenance that topping causes? Doubtful.
I’ve linked to research, you have not. So it’s pretty weird to harp about my experience, which again is only one small part of the knowledge I’m drawing from here, when you’ve backed up with absolutely nothing besides some unrelated flex about a database you helped build.