Good pruning is invisible - the tree just looks right and stays healthy. Bad pruning takes years to undo. We only do the first kind.
Topping - hacking main limbs to stubs - is tree butchery: it triggers weak, fast regrowth that becomes MORE dangerous within a few years, invites decay and destroys value. Any company offering it is telling you what they know. Proper reduction pruning achieves the size goals people want from topping while keeping the tree structurally honest - it takes skill, and it's the only version we sell.
Cuts follow arboricultural standards - placed at unions, sized to close - and the amount removed respects what the species can biologically afford that season.
Dormant season for most structural work, but dead and hazard wood is anytime. Species matter - oaks especially have disease-driven timing that we schedule around.
Mature trees every 3-5 years typically; young trees benefit from short-cycle structural visits that prevent expensive futures.
Often - restoration pruning over a few cycles can rebuild reasonable structure. Bring us in and we'll map the comeback honestly.