reduction same as pollard?! what word to use!!!

[Jack-Arb aka Tiago Sinclair-Julio.]

Hi guys,

 

I have and want to understand, what is the meanning when - generally speaking arborist mean by certain terms,because I have a feeling that words like pollarding, reduction, topping can have little different meaning's for different people in certain context's.

 

As an example - to most people, a pollard is a tree that from an early age as been cut back to a dertemined hight and on a regular cycle all the growth is cut back to the same points of previous years, creating pollard heads....

 

At times this is done not in the early years of a tree, but its still a pollard if from there after a regular cycle is created to manage the tree, to me this is a pollard even dough it wasn't done in the ideal way!

So if a tree as its crown reduced by 20% and lets say that every 3 years all the growth is cut back to the same points, its a pollard, but the first work on it was a reduction to establish the desired hight and shape. So what I'm trying to say is that all trees that have been pollarded at a late stage have been topped or reduced to begin the regular prunning clycles. So then the first set of works have been bad practice for alot of arborists but after a few prunning cycles it becomes acceptable pratice...

 

Or a pollard is only a pollard if done from an early age and cant be no higher than the first few crooks?

 

To me its more the prunning cycles and the pollard heads, than the age of its first time done or its hight....

 

So lots of questions arise from this, like any one off reduction is detrimental for the tree therefore seen bad practice for lots of arborists. Can a tree be reduced by 20% and be considered a pollard or its just a pollard if more than 50% is removed, regardless of any future prunning cycles?

 

The ather day speaking about these definitions my boss said that theres a lack of a word to express the difference between topping reducing/re-shaping or the start of a prunning cycle regime, in other words pollarding, and I do agree with him.

 

Do you guys see it like this or not?

 

Curious about people's response to this!!!

 

Ciao Jack-arb

 

ps-Removal of growth back to the same points of original reduction done 3 years earlier.... Are these pic of a junior pollard or not? Or simply bad long term tree management?

[Dean Lofthouse]

That looks like a bad topping job turned pollard.

 

Pollard is removing all new growth back the head.

 

Reduction is pruning back to a growth / pruning point

 

Thats my take on it

[Jack-Arb aka Tiago Sinclair-Julio.]

That looks like a bad topping job turned pollard.

 

Pollard is removing all new growth back the head.

 

Reduction is pruning back to a growth / pruning point

 

Thats my take on it

 

Hi,

 

My point is what do you call a tree that hasn't pollard heads because its only started the cycle prunning regime.

 

Most defenetly agree that its a horrible reduction work, but the aim now is to keep cutting it back to those points. So it will be a pollard now when is it correct to call it pollard.

 

Jack

[Dean Lofthouse]

Hi,

 

My point is what do you call a tree that hasn't pollard heads because its only started the cycle prunning regime.

 

Most defenetly agree that its a horrible reduction work, but the aim now is to keep cutting it back to those points. So it will be a pollard now when is it correct to call it pollard.

 

Jack

 

Pollards are formed slowly along with formative pruning from a young tree.

 

I personally would called them a topping cut on a mature tree until you can see a definate head.

 

You can say you are going to pollard it when you quote to do the work but you have a good question there, when exactly does it turn from a topping cut into a pollard

[Drella]

I always thought that the correct way to pollard was to stub off a branch, wait for it to "witch's broom," then cut each volunteer back to the next bud shoot- nearest to the start of the suckered sprout.. Then continue this process for a few more years, until you end with a large narley stub reminiscent of a fist each time it's cut back, but allowing it to grow and thicken slightly each time it's pruned....

 

I'm not sure if I made myself clear,, it's kinda of hard to put it in words when you've never done it yourself...

 

 

And I know that topping here in the States, is basically just cutting the branch off at any old where and letting it grow back without scheduling any routine maintenence pruning with the tree from that point forward..

[Jack-Arb aka Tiago Sinclair-Julio.]

I always thought that the correct way to pollard was to stub off a branch, wait for it to "witch's broom," then cut each volunteer back to the next bud shoot- nearest to the start of the suckered sprout.. Then continue this process for a few more years, until you end with a large narley stub reminiscent of a fist each time it's cut back, but allowing it to grow and thicken slightly each time it's pruned....

 

I'm not sure if I made myself clear,, it's kinda of hard to put it in words when you've never done it yourself...

 

 

And I know that topping here in the States, is basically just cutting the branch off at any old where and letting it grow back without scheduling any routine maintenence pruning with the tree from that point forward..

 

No I didn't really understand what you meant and some of the American arb slang have no idea what it means. But did understand what you guys call topping there.

 

Thanks anyway, need to sleep now...

 

Bye

 

Jack

[Drella]

No I didn't really understand what you meant

Jack

 

Hmmmmm,, that's what my wife says about me.....

[Jack-Arb aka Tiago Sinclair-Julio.]

Hmmmmm,, that's what my wife says about me.....

 

Hi Drella,

 

Here in the UK in most towns you find as a street tree either lime's or London Planes, and both of them are good trees to pollard. So in lot's of city's you'l find street after street with these trees, and in alot of cases they are managed as a pollard, every so many years all growth is removed, generally they are no taller than 5 meters, this is from ground level to pollard heads.

 

Here some typical examples in these pic...

 

Bye,

 

 

Jack

[skyhuck]

Like your groundie, she looks like she has a lot of experience.

[MattyF]

what the hell is that i think i might be sick.....seriously that is topping if ever ive seen it,reductions are done to growth points that usually the tree can manage to heal over and not have a serious dormant bud explosion to make up for lost leaf area......unless there is a serious defect or issue with proximity ....