Haloing around and reducing veteran pollards

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

soemtimes i think we can go a little too far in the name of science!

[agg221]

The ring barking ?

 

Don't think I have Alec.

 

Whats the Willow context ?

 

 

.

 

Yes David, the ring barking.

 

It's a slightly odd one. My side boundary is very low lying, with an old overgrown railway embankment along the far side. It's got a line of very high willows (between 2 and 3ft dia, ~80ft high) along the boundary drainage ditch, which naturally lean away from the embankment, overshadowing my land making it difficult to get anything established and upright. Some of the willows are really nice specimens, others aren't. They technically belong to the owner of the embankment (my neighbour) but he is quite happy for me to do whatever I like with them.

 

The whole area is semi-wild, so the decent specimens have been haloed back with fracture pruning. The others could do with pollarding but I'm happy to leave dead wood as my other high dead wood (elms) is gradually dropping off and we have a few birds of prey around here.

 

One tree in particular presents a problem - I don't climb and someone's had a go and can't get up it as the trunk goes horizontally sideways about 10ft, around 25ft up. I was therefore thinking about ring-barking it at about 10ft where there are a few side branches, not all of which are dead. If it re-grows below then great and it could eventually be reduced further, to, say 8ft for a conventional pollard. If it dies then nobody is too bothered as the one next to it is decent. Eventually the top will of course rot and drop, but there are no targets (well, me walking around my land I suppose, but I know it's there and will avoid it in high winds!)

 

Any thoughts?

 

Alec

[David Humphries]

soemtimes i think we can go a little too far in the name of science!

 

Care to expand fella ?

 

 

 

.

[David Humphries]

Any thoughts?

Alec

 

Alec,

 

firstly I would make sure you get your neighbours agreement on paper. Trees more often than not outlast their owners, and any future owner may not be so amiable. (I'm sure you probably know your current neighbour well, & the situation) but trespass & criminal damage is something worth being mindful of when dealing with trees & neighbours.

 

Secondly, from the way you have described it, @ 10 feet it sounds like a job for a trained Arb.

 

Thirdly, putting aside the above, it sounds like a plan potential die back that will benefit invertebrates, fungi & birds.

 

If you go ahead, it would be worthwhile & interesting to document the tops demise via a series of shots over a few years.

 

Keep us updated

 

 

.

[agg221]

Thanks David, points noted. It will probably get done shortly and I'll get some pictures going.

 

Alec

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

soemtimes i think we can go a little too far in the name of science!

 

Oh dont take any notice, just cos some of this stuff is a bit too far over the line for my thinking.

 

I just sometimes wonder what were trying to work out in these experiments and what we want to do with the information gained

[David Humphries]

I just sometimes wonder what were trying to work out in these experiments and what we want to do with the information gained

 

 

To move forward with the knowledge gained from the experience

 

 

 

 

I'd of thought

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

To move forward with the knowledge gained from the experience

 

 

 

 

I'd of thought

.

 

need more than that to justify the purpose of willfull disrespect of an organism

[Danavan]

I don't see any issue with challenging convention, particularly at sites like BB.

 

.

 

Nether do I David, I welcome it & try to understand it.

 

I know alot of trees were spiked on the site & I think it may have been done to promote such reactive growth as seen in your shots of axe inflicted wounds on beech in spain.

 

Where the possible spike marks higher in the tree of a lapsed pollard than the example of the tree in spain? Lot's of interesting vectors to be considered.

 

Ted also did some axe work on some beech at bb a few years ago. I wonder what the result of those was on those trees.

 

It is all fascinating research & I look fwd to seeing some results in some years time. I may understand more then too.

[David Humphries]

need more than that to justify the purpose of willfull disrespect of an organism

 

like cutting one down or amputating its arms ???

 

 

What an odd comment !

 

 

 

 

.