Has a neighbour or someone unknown to you cut the head off your tree? Then you need the tree care skills of an arborist to save your tree. Since trees take in food and moisture through their leaves, arborists or tree removal specialists do not recommend topping them. However, if this has happened to your tree, you are likely wondering if you can still save your tree.

While you can save your tree, it may never be the same again. But here is how, with the help of a qualified arborist, you can restore your tree's vigour and beauty again.

You Need to Let Your Tree Replace Lost Branches

Your tree has lost its ability to take in food via its branches. That means for the time being, it has to make do with the stored food in its root system. Fortunately, if your tree was healthy before the topping, its root system should have enough energy to replace its lost leaders and branches. A strong tree can grow branches of up to 20 feet in a year if left alone.

As such, the first thing you need to do is leave your tree to repair itself. At this stage, an arborist can assess the health of your tree to ensure that it isn't diseased or damaged in any way — aside from the topping damage that is.

An Arborist Will Selectively Prune Weak Growth

The problem with topping trees is that the affected trees then quickly sprout new branches to replace those they have lost. This is a survival mechanism that ensures they can quickly take in food through photosynthesis before they die. Unfortunately, because this new growth happens so quickly, the newer branches are weak and prone to breaking in bad weather.

Because of that, it is important that you remove the weakest of these new branches. Doing that ensure that your tree has more energy to focus on the remaining stronger branches, leading to faster growth and better overall stability. Once an arborist has removed weak new growth, you need to step back and allow your tree to repair itself.

An Arborist Will Shape Your Tree Over the Years

It may take your tree a few years to replace its lost canopy. And, unfortunately, it may never regain its former beauty. However, a trained arborist can shape your tree's growth over the coming years by pruning new branches to ensure that they are strong and stable as well as attractive.

You can save your tree with the help of an arborist; however, it might never be as strong or as attractive as it once was. Only time will tell.