Yew savaging

[campanula]

OK, I am just a gardener and only have tree experience as a ground pruner and fruit worker but I walked into a customers garden today and almost burst into tears. 2 enormous and venerable yews, under TPOs have been 'pollarded'.....but like nothing I have ever seen. Essentially, they have been chopped off, completely flat, at the point of initial branching leaving 10foot trunks. I was too speechless to even take a photo but surely, this cannot be right. Every instinct screams murder - not even bothering to slant the cuts to avoid water collection - these are never coming back as decent trees. What to do?

 

My customer is also horrified at the gung-ho destruction of 200 year old yews and, against my advice, has paid up (to some insane effing cowboys who do not deserve to call themselves arbourists in their wildest dreams!).

[Shane]

What did the customer actually ask them to do?

Was approval obtained from the council for any work?

[King92]

it will grow back nicely

[Bearded Munch]

They should have a letter to say what work was allowed to be done on them, if not a phone call to the tree officer to see what was allowed. I work for the L.A and we have to get permission to work on any TPO trees ourselves. Yew trees will usually go mad after working on them but a few hundred years to get back to what they were.

[campanula]

My customer went through the council for permission to pollard these yews - he was actually reticent to do much at all but was 'advised' by the arbourists that pollarding was the way to go (we would have merely cleaned out the honeysuckle and raised the crown slightly to let in more light but, not being tree surgeons, we didn't volunteer). For a savvy solicitor, he is being a bit shocked and useless at the moment and putting it down as a learning experience). I am suggesting a fast disguise with a scrambling himalayan musk rose or one of the sempervirens ramblers, but am more worried by the completely flat and wide top of the main trunk - which is really all that's left. I have no idea how this will go down when the council sees these trees (as my customer is disheartened enough to request complete removal now).

[Gary Prentice]

I did some similar work for the National Trust twenty five years ago. Can't remember the reasons for it but it was necessary at the time. Not much consolation now , but as the poster above said , they will grow back. Yews , if healthy and vital, have great restorative abilities.

 

What had the owner actually asked to be done?

 

Edit. Don't plant anything to grow up them due to competition for light of the new growth

Edited November 30, 2013 by Gary Prentice

[campanula]

I should state that there is NO greenery left at all apart from a few low laterals at the very base. I simply cannot envisage how the tree can recover from only a single 24inch diameter trunk without looking ridiculous for decades

[campanula]

Thinking about the regenerative properties of yew, I am wondering if it would be better to reduce the trunk even more to create a densely shrubby silhouette rather than a ludicrous lollipop.

[Old Mill Tree Care]

Look on the Council website Planning Application Search. Put the address in and the details will come up, if it was legitimate work.

 

 

Sent with my iPhone from me, to you!

[campanula]

OK, I will suggest the well known method of 'averting ones eyes', much used on my allotment. For sure, I know how tenacious yew is but nonetheless, seeing such a characterful tree cut down to a single hefty trunk just looks.....wrong. I am anthromorphising but it just looks so helpless and vulnerable and I am really struggling to visualise how it can ever regain the grace and balance of a mature yew. So yeah, tell me again that it will not just grow back but not look totally ridiculous while doing so cos I have to convince my customer here (although I fail to see why he is not getting irate with the arbourists and strongly feel there are some chauvinistic forces in play which have inclined him defer to burly blokes with big saws while whining onto me - an aged female with mere secateurs.....