That's just ugly. I hope you didn't pay money for that hack job. In all likelihood those trees will now aggressively form weak multiple leaders and are nicely set up for crotch-rot in the process.

I suspect your tree service is now counting on you as a repeat customer. Please don't let them do the same to the trees on the left. That's an impressive tree line.

Sorry to say, but my recommendation to to top them one more time at ground level.

Dave

They saw a chance to make some easy money and you got the shaft with bad advice

Any reputable tree trimming company would not have recommended topping pines or for that matter any other vertical growing conifer.

Dave

You want a conifer to 'bulk up'? You thin the stand...that's what foresters do. It reduces the competition for the remaining trees, 'releasing' them for stronger growth. Don't ever top conifers, it's counter productive.

so after a few years is there any hope for these trees to return to their former splendor or am I hoping for a miracle?

Now they have to grow new tops that will be coming out from the side of the original trunk - the original structural continuity is pretty much gone for good.

And so on, as mentioned previously.

For additional information about the implications of topping trees see the web pages of the Plant Amnesty membership organization.

Ok thanks for all the information. So what should I do on the other side? Just trim the dead branches?

"Ok thanks for all the information. So what should I do on the other side? Just trim the dead branches?"

Most pines are self-pruning...you can do it manually if you want.
What's the trunk spacing in the stand & height of the trees? You may still be in that tree age bracket where thinning the stand would be beneficial.

you lost me ... what dead branches ... did i miss some facts???? .. some part of the story????

listen.. these are forest trees ... telephone pole trees ... they are usually planted.. close together.. like yours.. and self prune themselves.. over the decades ... see link ... no one went in there and took out lower branches... its all part of the planting program .... its how and what these trees do ....

part of your problem.. is that you want them to be what they arent .... which i am going to guess... is really big xmas trees .... said lushness is forced on them.. when they are growing from one to 8 feet ... they do NOT.. and never will.. look like that in nature ...

i dont understand.. what your goals are here ... i cant see your house... but i think i see houses behind.. but i cant figure out why the driveway goes away.. from where your camera is ....

you need to ID your goals ... the purpose of these trees ... and explain it all to us.. so that we might begin to help you understand where you want to go with all this ...

there comes a point in time.. with forest trees... when they get cut down... it doesnt make sense .. to me.. to keep pumping money into a lost cause ... and that was even before i would have topped them ....

and if you can type it for us to understand ..... you will be able to formulate.. how to proceed ...

you are struggling with the invest/divest dichotomy .... and hopefully we could help ...

ken