Pleaching

[Dagmar]

Pleaching:

the practice of forming a dense hedge by interweaving the branches of well-spaced trees but leaving the trunks prominent. Generally applied to limes and hornbeams.

 

 

The RHS definition, “the art of weaving together of branches of a row of trees”.

 

A practical description of the effect of pleaching is:

 

....................................... the pleaching of inosculate trees was employed as a solution to what otherwise might have been an insoluble problem. The trees were planted on a grid, like a small orchard. As they grew, branches were pruned and trained along this grid, so that eventually the branch of one tree met that of its neighbour. At that point, an incision was made in the bark of both branches and they were tied together, like blood brothers or sisters. The analogy is deserved in that not only did these branches grow together to form one member, but their support activites (condition of water/minerals and sap) merged, thereby joining the life processes of the neighbouring trees.

 

From an article by Mark Primack (this can be found on the web at different sites)

 

 

 

Inosculate trees are the most suitable for pleaching;

 

A plant is considered to be 'inosculate' if it is self-grafting; if the branch of one individual will, as the result of gentle abrasion, form a living bond with the branch of another individual, or with another branch of the same plant. When this grafting is aided or initiated by humans, the process is called 'pleaching'

 

Apple, Pear Lime, Hornbeam and Hawthorn are all suitable for pleaching and the technique has

been refined to a aesthetic art in France particularly and is common in Europe where pleached trees often line main streets in towns. Pleaching refers to the technique and was used in a variety of roles. Think of the pleaching iron used in hedglaying, ornamental features such as laburnum arches are also referred to as pleached but it is most usual nowadays to think of pleaching applied to trees such as those mentioned above.

 

 

Good overview of pleaching can be found here: http://www.orchardsedge.com/article.jsp?article=pleaching.jsp

 

And a technique procedural here: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9Mi7Xrgi4ZsC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=pleaching&source=web&ots=urYXgjYP82&sig=rJ761xYi-6TyXKj3GIzdjEFplb8&hl=en#PPA196,M1

 

It's not difficult but it is time consuming ! Although the effect can be extraordinary

 

It's a technique that's been around a long time

 

When the William the Conqueror gave the land at Pleshey to Geoffrey de Mandeville, hardly could he have known how the history of the place was going to work out. De Mandeville built a wooden castle with extensive earthworks to protect it, and all around the settlement he dug a deep ditch, with pleached hedges - closely woven thorn hedges to keep out unwanted visitors. The word pleaching comes from the Old French pleche or plashe, to intertwine. It is from this that the village gets its name. The castle became a stone keep and the village established itself as a considerable force on the national scene.

 

(From the Chelmsford Diocesan site: http://www.retreathousepleshey.com/history.php)

 

Photos show pleached limes at Arley hall, Cheshire and an old photo of a pleached Hornbeam walk, unknown location.

[silvafox]

I've heard the term 'pleaching' used to refer to 3 completely different things.

1. Hedgelaying. 2.Grafting tree branches together.

3. Siding up (mature)tree crowns in order to allow extra light into felled forest areas (group fell) .

 

I've used tie straps to join lateral lime branches along with pruning and shaping to form a 'hedge on stilts'. Now that its matured into shape a tractor and flail should manage it now.

 

In some towns of northern Spain I have seen plane trees planted about 4 yards apart in a grid. The trunks are straight to about 10 foot and the pollarded crowns are pruned and pleached together forming a continuos living trellis overhead. Really smart.

[treemotion]

Oh right i know what it is but not herd it called pleaching. Just hedging local school has some impressive stuff all the trees been wired up to each other and the branches lock together although whats the point.:wave:

[Rich Rule]

I have done a couple of pleach jobs in the past for a guy I used to work for. As dagmar said, it can be a little time consuming and tbh IMO a bit boring after a while. However the jobs in questioned were both rows of pollarded lime trees that the we had been going back to for a number of years. In hindsight the job did look a bit messy without leaves. But I have seen a number of cities in Scandinavia and Europe with pretty cool pleached trees that have been started from Nursery sotck and not trying to create the same effect from old pollarded trees.

 

Reckon if it is an option then go for it, as you said they have the money to spend.

[benhudson treeworks]

Might get Dagmar to do it by the looks of things....

[benhudson treeworks]

Well that's a bit harsh isn't it? Would you say that about other age-old skills such as hedge laying, dry stone walling, hurdle making and other outdoor crafts?

 

Im as subtle as a brick. Sorry

[fifer2000]

On the subject of pleaching. I,ve just looked at a couple of lines of newly planted Pleached Limes. They look like they've had at least one, maybe 2 growing season since planting. The cane frames are falling to bits and the trees are already starting to do there own thing.

 

Would rebuilding the cane frames then tieing in and pruning be ok?, or is a wire frame work necessary. There was such a frame on the only other example of pleached Limes I've ever seen this far north of the border!

 

Any advice greatly recieved. The client is a government quango with pots of cash. They initially asked for a survey on the landscaping of their new premises - it cant be more than 2 years old!!!

[BenR]

Ive done some pleaching, but only on young trees (hornbeam) planted specifically for pleaching. I would think it is probably a bit harder to get a nice look with more mature trees.

 

The frames are only really needed to get the main limbs established in the right direction/shape. Once the structure is there the frames can be removed and the trees look a lot better for it. Once the shape is sorted, trim with long arm hedgetrimmers

Edited March 31, 2011 by BenR

[little&large]

Hi matey,

 

Have done quite a few of these over the years all Limes in fact i was a a job just outside Cambridge on Monday and they want thier pleached Limes putting right when time allows. It is time consuming and fidley to do but also very satisfying too! How mature are the ones you have to do? Have they been done before? What state are they in? Just things to consider.

[ecolojim]

does nobody look at the date anymore?

 

this topic's 3 years old