Can I cut my evergreen tree down to half its height and still get new green growth?

Cutting this this type of tree in half (topping it). Is very harmful to tree. They only produce new growth from existing green shoots. When you top it the top section dies. And new shoots that appear on bottom are weak and will decay.

if you trim your conifer down to half its height and it “won’t have much green left,” you are almost certainly risking killing it or leaving it permanently bare and unattractive

Trees are able to beaten up a bit, but trimming it down half if size would cause too much stress to the tree. If you were to cut off a few branches over a longer span of time then you can promote the tree to continue to grow in unaffected areas as the nutrients will spread elsewhere from the cut off branches. Repeating this process till you ultimately get the desired aesthetic of said tree.

If you cut it down halfway, it will not grow back as well. It causes it stress when you do that. . The tree won't be able to photosynthesize properly without enough green needles, and you risk killing the tree or creating a multi-headed, unsightly one with multiple new leaders forming from the cut. It is best to avoid such drastic cuts or remove the tree entirely and plant a new one, as the tree likely won't bounce back to a healthy, natural shape

From a biological perspective, topping a conifer down to half its height is very risky and usually detrimental to the tree. As many people have mentioned in here, conifers do not respond the same way as many deciduous trees. If you remove half of the tree’s live foliage, especially if very little green is left, you are greatly reducing the tree’s ability to photosynthesize and recover. Many conifers also do not reliably push out new growth from old bare wood, so once the green needles are gone, that section may never fill back in. In a worst-case scenario, the tree may decline severely or die. From a bylaw perspective, this is also worth considering. In my experience, some homeowners consider topping a tree by 50% as a way to "avoid" applying for a removal permit. However, pruning or cutting back more than about 30% of a tree’s live crown is often treated as tree injury, not normal pruning. Topping a conifer by half would almost certainly exceed that threshold and could technically require a tree injury permit. It may also still be chargeable by bylaw enforcement if someone in the area reports it or brings it to the city’s attention. The bottom line: I would not risk it. Either have the tree properly pruned to address the specific issue, or, if the tree is truly unsuitable for the site, go through the proper process to have it removed. Topping it halfway is unlikely to give you a healthy, attractive tree afterward and may create both tree health and bylaw problems.

Don't do it just remove whole tree.

It depends on the type of evergreen. Many conifers, such as spruce, pine, and fir, do not produce new growth from old bare wood. If you cut the tree back to the point where very little green foliage remains, it may not recover and could be permanently damaged or even die. Before reducing the height by half, it’s important to identify the tree species. In many cases, selective pruning while maintaining live green branches is a much safer approach. If the tree has become too large for the space, removal and replacement with a more suitable species may be a better long-term solution. I recommend having the tree assessed by a qualified arborist before making major cuts. They can advise how much can safely be removed while keeping the tree healthy.

NO, evergreens do not produce new buds on old bare wood.