Not kill it, just deform it. Then, multiple new leaders will emerge and eventually themselves need topping. Still, short of whole tree removal, not much of an option. Being up into the lines already makes me believe the tree is beyond a reasonable size to be moved.

+oM

what is it with you and topping today ... get a new saw or something ... lol

IMHO .. being the purist i am.. it will ruin the look of the specimen..

it should have never been planted there.. as trees never really stop growing.. and that aint your property ... [hopefully the prior owners mistake]

be done with it...

that said.. top it.. and see if you can find any enjoyment out of it.. it wont kill it ... but i suspect a year or two down the line.. you will be leaning toward removal ...

it will re-leader.. and grow right back into the power lines.. since there will be no injury to its massive root system ... so plan on going back and topping it every few year ...

listen.. you can not kill a tree by pruning it ... except at ground level with an application of stump killer ... however.. you can open wounds.. that in the next 10 or 20 years .. might cause significant rotting that will lead to the eventual decline of the tree ... most of us dont worry about that far down the road ...

ken

Yes, topping spoils the shape and does not stop the upward progress of the tree, unless it is a mature tree that is so damaged by the topping that it goes into a decline. Trunks of such specimens may also start rotting out, as a result of the topping. Brutally topped orchard fruit trees, with severe decay of main branches and trunks abound in my area.

As mentioned, younger conifers like you are asking about here are liable to fork and resume growing as before, so that now you have more than one top growing above the desired height - with the whole tree now having a candelabra shape above the topping point, instead of the natural conical, pointed, single-trunked structure it had before the topping. Topped conifers that grow large later may have the replacement tops snap off at the point of attachment, to cause damage to nearby objects.

Move the power lines instead.

Resin

I agree, it would be difficult to top a tree like that and still retain it's beauty.

Resin, lol!

Makes me think of my latest power line mess......

There was a 50' tall and wide native hackberry tree in the center and back of my property. It had to be at least 40- 50 years old and had a 4+ foot diameter trunk at the base. It's canopy spread was so wide the shadows it cast played an intergral part in my garden's micro-climate. I had several sun sensitive trees tucked away under its sun dappling branches.

Then as is sooooo popular across the mid-west these days, the power company came through about 5 years ago and cut the entire back side of the tree off to get it 10' off the powerlines so it would not a threat to do damage during ice storms. That was such an extreme trim though the tree started a noticable decline the next spring. Finally about 4 weeks ago a late summer storm came by with a strong wind shear and it snapped the tree off right at the trunk's base. The tree was thrown sideways quite a ways and hit the powerlines anyway, snapping off two poles with all the weight.

The sad part now's the power company has decided to bury the downed lines rather than re-string them. If they had decided to do that 4-5 years ago instead of butchering the tree, it would still be standing today. And now I have several japanese maples and other goldens that are burning in the full sun.

Power lines...not a tree's friend !!

mark