Pollarding?

[Pol Anderson Bishop]

Hey guys,

I am new here and here I come with my newbie question I've read some about pollarding, but I still can't get it. What's so special about it and why it is different than the usual tree pruning? Can anyone explain it simple please? Thank you in advance.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Dont get bamboozelled, pollarding is for production of fruit and material, if someone says they are pollarding a urban tree, they are just topping it and trying to use a fancy word for hackery.

 

[imagineero]

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=156

It's a practice that started mainly for the creation of fodder, kindling, and material to be used for craftword/weaving. It's still practiced in some countries. The only time I've seen it used in australia was in a plantation to grow one of the very few species of eucalypts that koalas eat, for easy and continuous harvesting of the foliage.

Pollarding is topping for a purpose, that purpose generally being to be able to easily harvest the new sprouts. A pollard head is established over time as a mass of wound wood, and once established the pollard head is not re-cut. New growth is cut back to the head without damaging it, and the tree will continue sprouting from this point.

For practicing arborists in most countries it's a poor practice with little application. It's generally used inappropriately to try to turn an elephant into a piglet, when you should just get rid of the elephant and get a piglet. The only other practical application I've seen is for the easy harvesting of single specimens of some nut/berry trees in the home environment like pecan, macadamia, mulberry etc which would otherwise grow too large to be practically harvested for most people.

Shaun

 

[sac-climber]

Commonly used in my area (N.California) on Morrus and Lagerstroemia. I wouldn't call it a poor practice though, as long as the knobs are maintained properly. Lagerstroemia responds well to the technique with heavy blooms. I don't believe it has a place outside of residential settings however. Also, it needs to be decided at the time of planting that pollarding will be the style of pruning. Imagineero is correct that it is a poor practice to implement on an established tree. Its flat out topping at that point imo.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Crepe myrtles are commonly pollarded in the south as well, to maximize blooms, but I still think they look better left natural. Take a walk down the Riverwalk in San Antonio and see what they should really look like. Actually, take a walk down the Riverwalk anyway. Just don't fall in the river as you're looking up and the beautiful trees. It is a treat.

 

[sac-climber]

Crepe myrtles are commonly pollarded in the south as well, to maximize blooms, but I still think they look better left natural. Take a walk down the Riverwalk in San Antonio and see what they should really look like. Actually, take a walk down the Riverwalk anyway. Just don't fall in the river as you're looking up and the beautiful trees. It is a treat.

I rather float on it with one of those fish bowl sized margaritas!

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Well, they are even more amazing that way. ..

 

[Kfd518]

Crepe myrtles are commonly pollarded in the south as well, to maximize blooms, but I still think they look better left natural. Take a walk down the Riverwalk in San Antonio and see what they should really look like. Actually, take a walk down the Riverwalk anyway. Just don't fall in the river as you're looking up and the beautiful trees. It is a treat.

Heh heh even if you do fall in its not very deep in most sections that you walk along. But yes the entire river level is quite amazing considering the space they have to work with. Was just there Monday.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Pollarding along with coppicing (where the new growth is cut back to the stump) is a practice that originated in Medieval England. The King owned the trees but the peasants were allowed to utilize the new growth for animal forage, heating and cooking fuel or building material. So the new growth was cut back to the pollard knuckle for the peasant's use without removing the King's tree.

 

[imagineero]

So the king owned the stump and the peasants owned all the branches?

 

[crotchclimber]

The only trees I've seen that pollarding looks good on is mulberries. It makes a nice shape if maintained yearly on a suitable tree that will make the knobs at the branch ends. But it's a lot of work compared to most tree maintenance. I've been noticing a lot of topping lately on established trees such as London plane and Eucalyptus. It's definitely not the same thing as pollarding.

 

[BC WetCoast]

While looking at a few British web sites on pollarding, where it has been a practice since medieval times, I came across an interesting statement that pollarded trees live longer than untreated trees. It was stated that these trees live longer because they are kept short due to the pollarding and not susceptible to toppling even if they are heavily decayed. A normal sized tree would topple or stem break with the same amount of decay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding

I pollard a hazelnut tree (filbert) that sits between my house and my neighbour's patio. Unfortunately it is right under the service wires. When I pollard it to about 3' it grows to just under the service wires each year and provides a nice screen between our yards.

London plane is a species that is often pollarded in Europe.

 

[treesmith]

I was informed by a reliable source that some of the oldest trees in England have survived as long as they have by being pollarded/coppiced, usually the two Oaks - Quercus Robur/Patraea and Sweet Chestnut - Castanea Sativa. It keeps them vigorous and functioning, doesn't allow the tree's system to decline.
Pollarding was usually at a height of 2m or so,keeps the regrowth away from browsing animals. Large areas of England were used in coppice production, working woodland was a way of life

 

[imagineero]

Who was the source?

 

[treesmith]

Science team leader from a government research centre for one.
I've got the thread from others as well, I'm sure Shigo said something along those lines too but I haven't got my books here. The coppice woods in the south of England are ancient, instead of a tree growing, maturing and declining, it is kept in a constant state of vigorous growth. I've had the honour of working on ancient hedges too, the stems are not that big and the growth is always strong.

Don't worry, I'm not arguing for topping as a way of extending a trees life! They are pretty amazing though

 

[DangerTree]

Ok so to cut to the chase here, Pollarding is very commonly done to any tree with adventitious growth characteristics, the most common tree in North America that gets this type of abuse is the willow tree. These trees can become super messy and large. Clients for some reason don't want them dead. So in the spring or late fall they can be completely cut back to the stump with three or so major branches left for good measure. the end result is a tree poodle that can sorta look ok. In some cases the wound is so large that a proper callous wont form this may result in rot at the surgery site and eventually I get my way! I kill trees dead or alive! For money!

 

[BC WetCoast]

Ok so to cut to the chase here, Pollarding is very commonly done to any tree with adventitious growth characteristics, the most common tree in North America that gets this type of abuse is the willow tree. These trees can become super messy and large. Clients for some reason don't want them dead. So in the spring or late fall they can be completely cut back to the stump with three or so major branches left for good measure. the end result is a tree poodle that can sorta look ok. In some cases the wound is so large that a proper callous wont form this may result in rot at the surgery site and eventually I get my way! I kill trees dead or alive! For money!

Proper pollarding is not abuse.

Least you show your true colours, hack.

 

[DangerTree]

Common, now! Im still laughing at the last thing you said! It hurts, make it stop!!

 

[DangerTree]

Hack? People call me to take down all those lovely old growth cedars in North Van that ARBORISTS beheaded 20-30 years ago! So I'm the bad guy? They didn't like the fact that the branches where ripping off in the wind because the only thing holding them on was cambium the 3' wide surgical sites are all full of compost! So I'm the bad guy? I wear the hood and pull the lever, somebody has to do it! One things for sure, I am definitely NOT a hack. I remove trees around expensive homes that are being damaged by debris and dismantle trees for construction projects that are too large to fit in the site otherwise. I'm damn good at what I do. And yes I know a thing or two about tree maintenance too. I can brace and bolt, I have plastered wounds and pruned fruit trees. I have saved flying squirrels, bats, ospreys, eagles and other animals from having their homes cut down. Best of all I have rescued at least 5 kitty cats from certain death! So I'm the bad guy? The Hack? Please spare me. I've been doing tree work my whole life I'm 50 now and I started out of high school. I have sharpened many a chain and bucked loads and loads of logs. Been eaten by armies of bugs and eaten my share of em too. I aint no hack.

 

[treesmith]

Trees managed just fine before man came along, we're all hacks