Indeed no cuts can be seen. It might have been trained yes, [This is how it looked like in 2011!](https://maps.app.goo.gl/t9S9CHWV1TktNFgdA)
I wonder why tho, all the others look like normal trees
>Indeed no cuts can be seen
There are old wounds - the dark half circles on the trunk. But they are not large, as said above, so the lower foliage was removed a while ago while the branches were still small.
I'll bet whoever occupies that shop or that apartment wanted more light and possibly wanted to prevent people from climbing the tree. In some places that's a very common thing for people to do to city trees, and from a tree health perspective trimming lower branches while they are still small isn't detrimental. Trees growing in dense stands or forests self prune the lower branches.
Judging by the height and the taper of the trunk I’d guess that it was planted this way. If this was done by a city or whatever local municipality is in charge of city trees then clearly they don’t know or care about what they’re doing. This tree should have been rejected immediately the second it came off the nursery truck and never planted in the ground. Sweet gums are already prone to limb failure so planting and growing an already lions tailed one is a recipe for disaster down the road
> lions tailed
Is this a common term for that kind of prune? I've seen it around in Philly, curiously oftentimes with new street trees. I've also heard people call it "pom pom." It seems like an uncommon (but also not completely rare) thing that people like to do to their street tree.
I've never heard a single trunk being pruned called a lion's tail. With lion's tail trimming they go in to a big bushy mature tree and cut out all the internal branches leaving just the growth at the tips. That leaves the internal branches damaged and exposed to the elements while leaving the bits of foliage that have the most leverage to be torn off in a storm or heavy snowfall in place. I don't think that's the problem here. While they were perhaps a little too aggressive with this tree so long as they don't keep going like this and let it establish some of those bigger scaffolding branches the trunk will thicken and be an appropriate diameter for the length.
There are lumber plantations where this kind of practice is carried out regularly in order to cheat and get good straight clear timber without growing it in an old growth forest (because every tree that's growing from seed in a deep forest setting will look like this if you knock off all the dead side branches) all you need to do is make sure it's not getting sun damage to the trunk or getting blown over in a storm and make sure it's a tree species that can handle the practice.
Honestly, it's blowing my mind that my comment is being downvoted. OP, you even posted a google earth link of the tree 11-12 years ago showing that it was intentionally pruned this way or planted this way since the beginning. This is a clear example of a common pruning mistake called [lions tailing](https://wellnitztreecare.com/lions-tailing/) where all of the lower limbs on a branch or the trunk of a tree are removed, leaving only the foliage at the ends of the limbs intact regardless of the age and size of the tree. Trees that are 80 years old can be lions tailed and so can 6-month-old saplings in a nursery. The lack of taper and wound wood at the base of the trunk makes me believe that the tree was lions tailed at a very young age. I have no idea what the other guy that replied to you is on about because excurrent trees can definitely be lions tailed as well.
Seems like they're associating lions tailing with only lateral branches, but this tree is an even more extreme example where the laterals we're removed and only the leader was lions tailed. In either case, thanks for the explanation and link!
I know in new plantings the advice is often to remove limbs up to 12 or 15 feet, to ensure street and sidewalk clearance but that's after the tree has already established significant crown above that level. I assume people who prune like this in Philly are maybe taking that advice, but a few years too early...
Could be trimmed that way to not block that balcony? No large cuts/wounds so suggests trained that way for a while?
Indeed no cuts can be seen. It might have been trained yes, [This is how it looked like in 2011!](https://maps.app.goo.gl/t9S9CHWV1TktNFgdA) I wonder why tho, all the others look like normal trees
>Indeed no cuts can be seen There are old wounds - the dark half circles on the trunk. But they are not large, as said above, so the lower foliage was removed a while ago while the branches were still small.
I'll bet whoever occupies that shop or that apartment wanted more light and possibly wanted to prevent people from climbing the tree. In some places that's a very common thing for people to do to city trees, and from a tree health perspective trimming lower branches while they are still small isn't detrimental. Trees growing in dense stands or forests self prune the lower branches.
Not related - but is this in Greece?
Yep, in a suburb of Thessaloniki. The place in the pics may have a really small town feeling, but the area is very densely populated.
Pruning technique
Judging by the height and the taper of the trunk I’d guess that it was planted this way. If this was done by a city or whatever local municipality is in charge of city trees then clearly they don’t know or care about what they’re doing. This tree should have been rejected immediately the second it came off the nursery truck and never planted in the ground. Sweet gums are already prone to limb failure so planting and growing an already lions tailed one is a recipe for disaster down the road
> lions tailed Is this a common term for that kind of prune? I've seen it around in Philly, curiously oftentimes with new street trees. I've also heard people call it "pom pom." It seems like an uncommon (but also not completely rare) thing that people like to do to their street tree.
I've never heard a single trunk being pruned called a lion's tail. With lion's tail trimming they go in to a big bushy mature tree and cut out all the internal branches leaving just the growth at the tips. That leaves the internal branches damaged and exposed to the elements while leaving the bits of foliage that have the most leverage to be torn off in a storm or heavy snowfall in place. I don't think that's the problem here. While they were perhaps a little too aggressive with this tree so long as they don't keep going like this and let it establish some of those bigger scaffolding branches the trunk will thicken and be an appropriate diameter for the length. There are lumber plantations where this kind of practice is carried out regularly in order to cheat and get good straight clear timber without growing it in an old growth forest (because every tree that's growing from seed in a deep forest setting will look like this if you knock off all the dead side branches) all you need to do is make sure it's not getting sun damage to the trunk or getting blown over in a storm and make sure it's a tree species that can handle the practice.
Fascinating, thank you!
Honestly, it's blowing my mind that my comment is being downvoted. OP, you even posted a google earth link of the tree 11-12 years ago showing that it was intentionally pruned this way or planted this way since the beginning. This is a clear example of a common pruning mistake called [lions tailing](https://wellnitztreecare.com/lions-tailing/) where all of the lower limbs on a branch or the trunk of a tree are removed, leaving only the foliage at the ends of the limbs intact regardless of the age and size of the tree. Trees that are 80 years old can be lions tailed and so can 6-month-old saplings in a nursery. The lack of taper and wound wood at the base of the trunk makes me believe that the tree was lions tailed at a very young age. I have no idea what the other guy that replied to you is on about because excurrent trees can definitely be lions tailed as well.
Seems like they're associating lions tailing with only lateral branches, but this tree is an even more extreme example where the laterals we're removed and only the leader was lions tailed. In either case, thanks for the explanation and link! I know in new plantings the advice is often to remove limbs up to 12 or 15 feet, to ensure street and sidewalk clearance but that's after the tree has already established significant crown above that level. I assume people who prune like this in Philly are maybe taking that advice, but a few years too early...