What Is the Crown of a Tree? A Guide for Gaston, OR Homeowners

To take good care of your trees, you need to understand the critical parts of a tree, and the crown isn’t an exception. So, what is the crown of a tree?

It’s the topmost part of a tree, with branches growing out from the main trunk and supporting the leaves that help the tree manufacture its food through photosynthesis. What’s more, the crown helps your tree filter out dust and harmful particles from the air.

In this blog post, Oregon Arborist, a trusted provider of professional tree service in Gaston, delves deeper into the definition of tree crown. Keep reading for more information.

Four Main Types of Tree Crowns

Every tree on your property has a crown, but this tree top structure usually differs from one tree species to the next. This gives us four main types of tree crowns.

1. Dominant Tree Crowns

One attribute that sets a dominant crown apart from others is that it gets more direct sunlight than any other crown type. That’s because this crown architecture pushes the foliage and branches aloft both outwards and upwards.

2. Codominant Tree Crowns

This type of crown shares direct sunlight with other trees. These crowns are relatively smaller than their dominant counterparts.

Only the tips of the uppermost tree branches receive sunlight. As a result, your tree will have a hard time growing to its full potential.

3. Intermediate Tree Crowns

While this crown also receives direct sunlight, it doesn’t grow beyond the height of the forest canopy’s lower ceiling. It’s shorter than its codominant counterpart and usually has leaves with a limited surface area.

4. Overtopped Trees

This crown type is smaller than the other three that receive direct sunlight. One side of your tree usually appears fuller and thrives under indirect sunlight. It features relatively few leaves besides displaying a short stature.

Crown-Related Services You Might Need

We’ve answered the question, “What is the crown of a tree?” Besides tree canopy definition, it also pays to understand various tree care services you may need to keep your tree crowns healthy and beautiful:

Crown raising. When you remove the lower branches of your tree, we call it crown lifting or crown raising. You can do it when a tree is obstructing your view or when you want more sunlight on your property.
Crown thinning. This activity involves removing a tree’s smaller branches, particularly on the outer side of the crown. It helps promote an even branch structure.
Crown reduction. If you feel your tree crown is growing too large, you can scale down its height and spread through crown reduction. This helps ease stress and keep your tree healthy and beautiful for longer!

Contact Your Local Tree Experts for Assistance

What is the crown of a tree? If you still need help with this question or a more detailed crown of a tree explanation, talk to the experts at Oregon Arborist. We provide a wide range of services, including:

Tree removal
Stump grinding
Tree trimming & pruning