Shoutout to the old-timer who showed me the difference between thinning cuts and heading cuts on a mature maple
I watched a guy two towns over take down about 30% of the canopy on a 60 year old sugar maple last spring, and then 8 months later I drove past the same tree on a job just outside of Burlington. The before and after was night and day... the tree looked like it had been through a storm right after he worked on it, all stubs and open wounds. But now it's pushing out healthy growth from the interior buds, the whole crown is opening up, and there's no rot setting in. Meanwhile I did a similar reduction on a silver maple last fall using mostly heading cuts to keep it shorter, and now half the branches are throwing up water sprouts and looking ugly. So which is it... do you guys think thinning cuts are always better for long term tree health, or are there times where heading cuts make sense if you're trying to shape a tree for a specific look? I've been going back and forth with a buddy about this and I'd love to hear what other arborists are actually doing in the field.