Bring back street pollards

[Buzzsurgeon]

Bring back street pollards.

 

If pollarding is considered bad practice now by modern arboriculture references, why are so many pollards retained and maintained as standard trees? Surely if the severe cutting caused so much damage why don't we have to fell them all? The common sight in a lot of urban environments is 20-40 year old regenerated pollards, crown lifted and thinned (lions tails) they look ridiculous, and how long can these trees be retained in this fashion before they get to big for the space they were planted in?

 

Think how easy it would be for the tree officer to deal with moaning residents complaining about shade, leaves and honey dew on their cars if pollarding was back.

[John Hancock]

Hmmmm....is this an exam question? If it isn't it should be!

 

They are alive and well in Worcester...Bring on the pollards! Pics to follow when I've sobered up!

[Ben]

Bring back street pollards.

 

If pollarding is considered bad practice now by modern arboriculture references, why are so many pollards retained and maintained as standard trees? Surely if the severe cutting caused so much damage why don't we have to fell them all? The common sight in a lot of urban environments is 20-40 year old regenerated pollards, crown lifted and thinned (lions tails) they look ridiculous, and how long can these trees be retained in this fashion before they get to big for the space they were planted in?

 

Think how easy it would be for the tree officer to deal with moaning residents complaining about shade, leaves and honey dew on their cars if pollarding was back.

 

Pollarding street trees would only stop the residents moaning for about 12 months then it would be back to square one. but I do agree that some trees pollarded 20 - 40 years ago need bringing back into a regular pollarding system.

[Marc]

Honey dew is worse on pollarded trees, the aphids prefer younger leaves and new shoots, where as an older tree is less likly to be severly affected by aphid.

 

As for lapsed pollards being poorly pruned i,e lions tailed well thats down to the contractors thining only the inner 3rd of the tree rather than the outer, its quicker and easier that way.

 

I agree that pollarding is not a bad idea if maintained, its very succesful in parts of Europe, but you have to look at it in another way, these trees are re-pollarded often by the towns people themselves or by municipal gardeners at a very low cost. Most Tree services here cannot economically price to pollard so many trees regularly to a high standard, so they are often left for long periods.

Or as is the case in some areas when trees are re-polarded (especially high pollards) they are pruned below the pollard head to save time, the idea being why make lots of little cuts when you can make one big cut!

 

We often think topping trees or heavy pollarding is bad practice, but its true if you look around you can see trees such as Beech, Horse Chesnut and Lime that have been hammered to a stick many years ago regrow complete new crowns and still be very vigorous and healthy.

But it doesn't mean its a good idea just because they can in my opinion! The branch junctions have been formed from old pruning points can never be as strong as a natural union, and to re-pollard them is never as effective the second time round i've seen many fail.

 

I reckon the best and most cost effective thing to do is re-plant with something more suitable rather than be stuck with **** trees that are a money drain in maintenance for councils.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Marc

[David Humphries]

Canopy cover in the Urban environment will become a major part of helping to lower the predicted rising temperatures in the next few decades.

 

We will see a Goverment backed return to large urban canopies.

 

 

I understand a major study over the metropolitan area of Greater Manchester, has been going on for a while. Where they have been recording the ambient temperatures in leafy and less leafy parts of the City.

 

And I know London will be pushing an initiative to increase canopy cover, returning to the Victorians foresight of large Trees providing a greener cityscape.

 

 

Quite obviously this will require serious managment of existing Tree stock, and a large investment in improving the planting and maintaining of new Tree stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Nimby]

The idea of just simply removing and replacing old avenue trees is completely wrong imo.

 

These street trees, as well as being important from an environmental point of view, are our heritage and should be managed correctly. Besides that they should be the bread and butter work for tree contractors and once they are gone so is the work.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I'm sort of coming round to pollarding after visiting france recently.

[bob]

I'm sort of coming round to pollarding after visiting france recently.

:scared1::thumbdown:

[Marc]

The idea of just simply removing and replacing old avenue trees is completely wrong imo.

 

These street trees, as well as being important from an environmental point of view, are our heritage and should be managed correctly. Besides that they should be the bread and butter work for tree contractors and once they are gone so is the work.

 

Absoloutly agree, with managed correctly being the key word!

 

I'm also glad to hear what monkeyd is saying and i hope it happens although having done bits and pieces in London, it seems people do not like big trees taking their light, education is needed to show the importance of trees.

[Marc]

I'm sort of coming round to pollarding after visiting france recently.

 

They sure manage their pollards nicely. I just don't see that happening over here anytime soon, pollarding street trees is tendered, which goes to the cheapest, so to make a profit a quick and often shoddy job is done.

 

I did an avenue of London Planes that had been turned into high pollards they were way above the house tops and broad, 16 in total 4 climbers, 4 trees each about 1 and half hrs a tree. I strarted out with my silky the growth was a maximum of 2" being careful not to go beyond the collar so to speak, then all 3 other climbers start hacking away with their 200t's cutting into the knuckles, I then get shouted at to get a move on as there isn't the money on the job to take all day on 1 tree.

Its a shame but this is the reality.

 

By the way i was almost as quick with a silky and without being to modest i thought mine looked the best, and have grown back more evenly.