Back in the dark Middle Ages, people would top trees so the tree would grow shoots they could use for a continual supply of firewood. Today, however, there are no good reasons to top a tree.

Large, stately trees on a number of properties in St. Charles have recently been subjected to the brutish practice of "topping" or the drastic cutting back of branches. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation and professional arborists everywhere, this is a bad idea.

A healthy tree can add thousands of dollars to a home's value. According to the professionals, cutting the branches back to stubs reduces that value because it weakens the tree, allows bugs, disease and rot into the cut ends, increases the chance of property damage from the weaker branches that grow back, destroys the beauty of the tree, and hastens the tree's death. The loss of leaves also starves a tree in the summer, which weakens the roots.

No knowledgeable professional would top a tree. Proper pruning looks entirely different. If a tree is sick, there are other ways of treating it. Topping a tree makes the tree look ridiculous, it's bad for the tree, and it's a costly error. More information can be obtained from the Missouri Department of Conservation at 1-877-40 NO TOP, which is 1-877-406-6867.

Kristi Mueller, St. Charles