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Restoring topped trees
Note the topping cut in the center left of the photo. There is a short stub sticking out from the tissue. The large diameter sprout on top and the smaller one on the bottom grew from just below the topping cut made several years earlier. A collar is developing around the stub and the smaller sprout because one of the sprouts grew to much larger in diameter than the other one. This indicates that the connection between the two is stronger than if there was no collar. Attempt to improve structure on topped trees by reducing the growth rate on competing stems so that one stem dominates.
