hack job

[rb_in_va]

Hello all,
I am posting some pics of the work the landscape guy did at my condo. Let me know what you think of it. I was not aware that he was going to do this work, but since I am on the condo board, I have some say in his future work. TIA for your opinions. Later, Roger.

 

[rb_in_va]

another

 

[rb_in_va]

Here's another tree on the complex. Any thoughts on what might need to be done to this one. I am afraid the guy will just cut it down because it's leaning or something. I want to be informed when this guy says work needs to be done so I can just tell him to leave the chainsaw at home and stick to lawn care. The tree has a split in the trunk, which he put quikcrete in. I will post some pics of that too.

 

[rb_in_va]

Here's one of the concrete in the trunk.

 

[rb_in_va]

Closeup of concrete. Let me know what you think of this guy's work. Should I ever let him do any more tree work? It seems to me that this is hack work from what I've read at AS. Thanks, Roger.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Brian summed it up... pollarding is how those types of trees are usually maintained. I hate it, it looks like crap. If he wouldn't have stripped every single sucker off, it might not have been so bad.

And concrete is a no-no.

 

[Newfie]

He's not even a good mason.

 

[ORclimber]

Pollarding crepe myrtles makes sense. They bloom on new growth. They are also prone to frost damage in colder areas, so maintaining a natural form may not work long term. I've pollarded one for 3 years.

I'd probably make that one lower though, so the blooms can be seen out the window.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

You guys need to go study more.

What is done to those trees in the pics isn't pollarding. Do you know what pollarding is? If not, you should.

Those trees were topped.

If they were properlly pollarded they would look nice and be pretty healthy.

Maybe I'm being too tree-PC for some of you though. What is pollarding and why is this work not pollarding?

Where ever I see crepe myrtle I see them maintained like this. This really seems to be species specific abuse.

Tom

 

[ORclimber]

Pollarding is topping/heading and then cutting the new growth back to the same spot every year. I use felco 7's. I've never started the process, only taken over yearly maintenance.

You're right Tom. I was too wrapped up in defending the practice of pollarding crepe myrtles to look at what was done to that individual tree.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It could be a start for a pollard.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The above mulberry after pollard pruning.

I started on this vollenteer around 4 years ago.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Here is a new one I started last spring. This is the second year I've butched it back.

This is at my Mom's church, where I practically grew up. It's allways been small so the budgets are real tight. I figure I can make do with these gifts from the birds.

the bigger one was doing a job on the roof

 

[MasterBlaster]

Those sticks are BEAUTIFUL!

 

[rumination]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that pollarding is an old pruning technique originally used for firewood production. Like coppicing but up in the air and cut back more frequently. I never understood why anyone decided it looked nice and used it for ornamental purposes. I suppose it might work well for some species that flower on new wood. I just started pollarding some Mussaendas here that had just been repeatedly topped for years becuase they also flower on new wood. However, when visiting San Francisco for the first time recently I was surprised at how many of the street trees there are pollarded. I thought it was pretty ugly. Why not just plant a tree that's going to grow slowly and stay small instead of hacking them back every year? I'd think you could save a lot of money that way too.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by rumination
Why not just plant a tree that's going to grow slowly and stay small instead of hacking them back every year? I'd think you could save a lot of money that way too.

Yup. Thats the ticket!

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Crepe murder is what I call that. When all the cuts are at one level, all the growth is at that level too. We now have virulent strains of powdery mildew bred in the thick mops that crepe murder makes of those trees.

They should have been allowed to grow to full size, which would mean more blooms spread out over a wider area. Shade, wildlife benefits also.

On the quikcrete, it does not improve the situation that caused the crack. The lean is slight and away from the building so that does not look like an issue. This idiot needs to stick to the grass (cutting it not smoking it). If you're on the condo board you should hire an arborist to prune the crepes yearly--they'll get right eventually--and do a risk assessment/maintenance program on the big tree, and the others on your property.

Email me if your board can budget for tree care--I get to your area a few times a year.

 

[NeTree]

It looks like $hit.



Have him stick to mowing.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Originally posted by rumination
I thought it was pretty ugly. Why not just plant a tree that's going to grow slowly and stay small instead of hacking them back every year? I'd think you could save a lot of money that way too.

Yeah they look pretty horrid for a month or so, depending on how early in the season I do the trimming.

I like dwarf cvs for this situation too, but neither the church or I can afford the cost of one that would fit in the anchor spot which the mulberry now serves. A zone 4 dwarf flowering tree of that size would run several hundered dollars. There are several general maintenance projects waiting for that type of money. I do a little prunning every month out there, this takes me 20 min a year.

I was going to wait till summer when the tree is in full folliage to post the sequance, but thought I'd add to the thread now.

With pollarding of this sort, I think of it more as bush/shrub management then a tree. as the pollard heads grow, they seem to have a different sort of aesthetyic value in and of themselves.

What pollard does lend in full leaf, is the long whispy branching, you cannot get with a dwarf, in a small place. and it seems to me better for the plant, in the long run, then getting the hedge shears out.

As for the historic usage, some say it was for fodder, to keep it away from the animals, and for material sources for basket weaving. It was later found usefull in growing construction material before steel tools and large shops to bend with steam. Then the were used for boundry markers and such and since they were rathe ubiqitous people started formalizing the technique for gardens.

Properly managed this and other high maintenance techniques have their place in landscapes. As long as the client knows what they are getting into.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I've got a catalpa tree in my front yard that I have pollarded for several years. Partly an experiment but also to have a large crown tree in a small area.

By pollarding, I get a very concentrated flush of flowers. The tree looks almost like a lilac flower head but it's about fifteen feet tall. The leaves will get to be about 12"x15".

It's twin is planted in the front yard too. It si interesting to compare trunk sizes and foliage. I think that the pollard probably has just as many square feet of leaf area.

If critics of pollarding would study the procedure and physiology they would understand that it is not harmful to the plant. Skining out mature trees inner branches because the customer is paying for a tree sculpture is more harmful than proper pollarding.

I do agree though, that pollarding does look a bit brutal. But it can be used to produce an effect that can't be gotten any other way.

Keep up the good work John.

Tom