How hard can hornbeam be pruned?

[Marc Lewis]

A customer has asked me to heavily reduce 2 hornbeam trees. Do you need to cut back to growth points or will it grow back from a knuckle or or a stub or will it die off? I ask this for both height and sides. Thanks in advance.

[jfc]

I don't have personal experience but have seen photos of hornbeam pollards that look quite healthy. I think they were pollarded commercially in the past. There is also an old thread on here "Hornbeam Pollards".

If it's that or lose the tree then pollarding is the better option.

 

Jan.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

1 hour ago, Marc Lewis said:

 

A customer has asked me to heavily reduce 2 hornbeam trees. Do you need to cut back to growth points or will it grow back from a knuckle or or a stub or will it die off? I ask this for both height and sides. Thanks in advance.

 

"Get real Paul", I hear a certain someone saying, but any chance the client would be amenable to a phased approach to hopefully spur some lower generation of new foliage before the final 'whacking' maybe?

Hornbeam, with good vitality / health, can tolerate pruning IME but if a mature specimen "less is always more."

Cheers,

Paul

PS As a point of reference, BS3998 (industry standard for tree works / pruning) implies not removing more than 1/3rd foliage bearing material in a single operation...ideally.

[Stere]

Was traditional a coppiced  & aad under storey species (Oliver Rackham)

 

Unsure what age was first cut though?

[Khriss]

Reductions are my greatest contention - basically NO !  Then take minimum off for legal issues ( Highways Act   etc, screaming neighbours )then if you must, reduce to a good growth point, which for the clueless is NOT a stub you wish to have it grow from, it's a lateral branch that will continue to feed the main branch you cut.

 

Leave top growth where possible, as that continues apical dominance in most species. If it has reached it's ultimate height,  it will grow less in reaction to pruning. 

 

Thinning of crown  (  particularly Hornbeam and Willow ) may give better tree health and result for client. 

 

It's species sensitive and seasonal timing is important,   'heavy reductions ' lead to future decay and failure of part of, or whole tree in many cases.  K

[Vedhoggar]

Have re-pollarded veteran hornbeam leaving some branches - response to pruning good to average.

[Mick Dempsey]

You can prune hard, be it a maiden or a repollard, no need to go to growth points.

 

 

@AA Teccie (Paul) seriously now, it’s handing out duff advice like that that gives tree surgeons (and your organisation) a bad name.

[Khriss]

@Mick Dempsey you can reduce it to the floor , it may still grow......   K

[Khriss]

(  but worried guy is asking for reduction advice for a customer on here  -  as I normally consider it a skilled arborists job )

[Mick Dempsey]

He’s just looking for advice Khriss. 
 

I have opined before about how industry bodies don’t offer any sort of guidance on how various trees react to pruning, just some old blather about ‘doing as little as possible’ Or ‘felling and removing with a more suitable species‘

 

 

Or the biggest laugh, referring to BS3998.

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Mick Dempsey