In a lot of situations pruning back to the fence line is the worst outcome for both parties. Cutting back to a fence line means it is unlikely that an Arborist will be able to make correct pruning cuts, leaving ‘lopped’ branches, or stubs. A branch stub with no foliage will shoot epicormic regrowth, which are shoots that will grow much faster than the original foliage of the tree, and they have a different structure (leggy, less branch division, usually larger leaves).

Lopping, or fence-lining is not only a poor Arboricultural practice, and looks horrible, but because it will promote vigorous growth, it will create the need to very regularly prune the tree back to the same point, costing you a considerable amount of money over time.

Having a qualified Arborist prune back to branch unions may not always completely eliminate overhang, but will mean that there are longer intervals between follow up pruning, which will save you money.