Green Horizons
Volume 3, Number 4
Autumn 1998
Leaf removal affects roots
As a rule of thumb, it is a good practice never to prune
more than one-third of the branch area of a tree in a single
year. Some research indicates that a tree can lose up to 50
percent of its leaf volume before roots are affected. At the
50 percent level of leaf volume removed, the root growth
stoppage percent is less than 5 percent. However, when 60
percent of leaf volume is removed, up to 50 percent of the
root growth is stopped. At 80 percent leaf removal, there is
100 percent root growth stoppage.