Scots / Scotch pine problem

We have approx 300 trees that were planted way too close together. All of these trees are on about a half acre. Trees are between 15 and 20 feet high. All of the under growth is now dying out. These trees have been a wall to the road and now you can almost walk under them. My guess is that light was cut off as they grew together and now the trees are responding by dropping all the needles below the crest.

My question is:

If I thin out the trees now and remove all the branches with dead needles will they grow back new branches or are these trees destined to look like telephone poles with pine trees on top ???


Thanks in advance for any help !!

 

They'll look like telephone poles with pine trees on top. The lower branches won't regrow.

PS Scots is the correct spelling; the other form is offensive and best avoided

 

Thanks Michael !
As to the first part of your response. Even if I thin the trees out and leave the lower branches needles will not regrow ?

As to the second part. I realize Scots is the correct spelling (why I got that right and miss so many others ??????). I don't understand the offensive part and why avoid it.

 

Any other help or thoughts ?????????

 

A few photos may help but from experience with named
cultivars of Pinus sylvestris, once we cut off the lower
branches back to the base of the tree we will not have
new lower regrowth come back in unless we also cut
the tops way back as well. It will require more than a
few shearings after the tops have been severely pruned
back in hopes of getting any balanced new lower growth.

Even then with most forms we may not see new growth
come back even when the tops have been pruned back
and sheared later. It is a risky adventure to prune the
tops way back in hopes of getting new lower growth
when we've already lost much of the lower growth.
There can be some exceptions but in most cases once
the lower growth has died out and we whack off the
dead limbs back to the trunk we do not see much to
any new replacement growth to come in later for these
trees. There probably never will seem to be enough
new lower growth to come back in, if we get lucky, to
replace all the growth that we once had and lost which
is why we just do not count on it happening. If we
want new lower growth we have to force it and we
still may not get any no matter what we do.

Jim