Pollard a willow in decline to rejuvenate it.

[HarryPNE]

The attached photos show the willow in question.

 

Now, i now late winter is the best time to heavily attack this tree... but i dont know how well it will be doing come spring given it is already heavily drying out even at the base with the bark flaking away. The branch tips show no buds for next year. And as you can see, the canopy itself is buggered due to poor pruning a couple of years back.

 

So!

 

My question is:

 

Will pollarding this famously hardy and quick growing tree shock/reinvigorate the willow into life?

 

(I would plan to pollard on each of the 4 stems 2/3 ft above the primart union - at a diameter of about 1ft).

 

Or!!!!... am i living in a dream world... especially doing this in late october?

 

Thanks a bunch!

 

Harry.

[chopper brown]

I would say Kill or Cure.

 

If it's struggling anyway and not looking too good for next year what have you got to loose.

 

If you can delay until all the leaf is off then that would be ideal but I've pollarded plenty out of season and not had any issues.

 

Hope that helps 

 

Jim

[Mick Dempsey]

Now is good.

 

Will it come back?

 

Well, it’s got two chances.

 

 

[HarryPNE]

Well cheers fellas. Gonna go ahead with it. Thanks for the advice.

[spandit]

I’d be impressed if you managed to kill it. The willows I have here (predominantly grey) get savagely hacked back to stumps every couple of years and they come back with a vengeance 

[tree-fancier123]

On 11/10/2018 at 14:30, Mick Dempsey said:

Now is good

what about it being autumn and the fungal spores being released? I know trees have to be cut when people have time, but is there much evidence that trees have a greater incidence of infection by pathogenic fungi after heavy pruning works in autumn as opposed to mid/ late winter (or late summer even) ?

 

For this tree I can see its seen better days so maybe some pathogens are already at work

Edited October 12, 2018 by tree-fancier123

[MattyF]

I recon it will finish it ... doesn’t look like it will come out on leaf next year as it is !

[tree-fancier123]

[Gary Prentice]

Mulch it, mulch it and mulch it.

 

The trees been stressed, there's competition from the surrounding vegetation and it's going to be pruned again ( reducing some of it's energy stores and ability to photosynthesise. Treat the tree as a whole and give it a leg up towards surviving.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Gary Prentice

[jfc]

Pruning seasonality is interesting what about adding nesting birds to spring/summer, as a neg?