Re-pollarding

[briscoe]

Hi

 

When re-pollarding a tree which has established pollard heads how tight should you cut the growth/shoots back to the old head?

 

I have seen some people leave small stubbs and others right back to where the shoot left the pollard head.

 

When I did my NCH arb course we covered alot on reductions (back to a lateral branch) but not so much on pollarding from what I can remember.

 

thanks

Jon

[DanClimbsTrees]

I'd also be interested to know this. Council work round here seems to vary from right back to the previous pollard to about 250mm above it.

[Steve Bullman]

I always go back to the knuckle. I don't really understand the concept or point of leaving longer shoots, and think it looks ridiculous, not what a traditional pollard is all about at all

[Ian C]

I always go back to the knuckle. I don't really understand the concept or point of leaving longer shoots, and think it looks ridiculous, not what a traditional pollard is all about at all

 

Agree with the boss

[Phil71]

I always go back to the knuckle. I don't really understand the concept or point of leaving longer shoots, and think it looks ridiculous, not what a traditional pollard is all about at all

 

Did I remember reading somewhere that it has something to do with carbohydrates being stored in the stubs, and this helps the tree produce new shoots? I'll wait to be corrected on this as at my age the old memory's not what it used to be! I personally always go to back close to the knuckle as I think the stalks look awful.

[Steve Bullman]

Did I remember reading somewhere that it has something to do with carbohydrates being stored in the stubs, and this helps the tree produce new shoots? I'll wait to be corrected on this as at my age the old memory's not what it used to be! I personally always go to back close to the knuckle as I think the stalks look awful.

 

I think its something like that......somehow the trees that have been regularly pollard for the past couple hundred years seem to cope though

[combined tree services]

I would say that it depends a lot on the vitality of the tree pre pollard and the size of the final pollard points , more often than not with larger diameter growth I will leave it 4-5 cm proud of the knuckle , younger growth tends to get removed back to the knuckle where appropriate

[devon TWiG]

If you think back to when pollarding first started , they did not ( obviously !!) have chainsaws and most probably used a crude axe to hack off the regrowth leaving pretty ragged stumps I would imagine, so by default a small stub of some degree was probably left as it was not really possible to cut flush back to the "head " ..this is most likely done to look "neat and professional " rather than for biological reasons ... look how coppicing is /was done as well ...

[briscoe]

Thanks for the replies . Will the shoots that get cut off re-shoot or is the idea that the cuts will heal over and then new shoots form from another area on the pollard head?

 

When creating a pollard from a a tree that hasn't been pollarded is it essentially a

lop and top ? if so what stops rot setting in from cuts not made at usual pruning points such as taking back to a lateral branch in a reduction or removing whole branch to branch bark ridge?

[Gary Prentice]

 

When creating a pollard from a a tree that hasn't been pollarded is it essentially a

lop and top ? if so what stops rot setting in from cuts not made at usual pruning points such as taking back to a lateral branch in a reduction or removing whole branch to branch bark ridge?

Nothing