Linden tree is larger than I thought

Question

When I planted my linden tree in our backyard 9 years ago, the surrounding landscape was quite sparse. The year before I moved to this house, the area had a catastrophic ice storm that damaged many large trees, including the ones adjacent to my property, with many large limbs snapped off. I did not have a clear picture of how the area near my tree would fill in. My linden is getting shaded out by a neighboring large maple that has grown lots of dense branches on top where the limbs had snapped off. I have pruned back as much as I can to allow for light and air to reach my linden, but linden is starting to thin out on the most shaded side. Is there a way for me to “top” my linden to stunt its growth so that it does not get taller than it already is? (it is about 30′ tall now). I am ready, willing and able to do a major pruning and shaping this winter, but need guidance.

Answer 1

Any tree can be topped, but the end results may not be what you would like. Topping works in the short term, but will shorten the life of the tree overall. Here is more info on the negatives of topping: http://www.plantamnesty.org/warning–topping-is-hazardous-to-your-tree-s-health

That being said, if you have no choice but to top the tree to keep it in the space, it basically just involves doing what it says. You remove the top branches of the tree.