Pollards, are they out of vogue in the UK?

[devon TWiG]

I have a London Plane tree on a piece of ground near my parking lot close to my house , that I planted as a millennium gesture . It has grown well to about 30 foot now and I have given it a slight crown lift in the past and a gentle thin to improve form ( crossed / rubbing branches etc ) I intend to pollard this winter before it gets out of hand and becomes a problem ( it is already lifting the tarmac path next to it ) I have traveled in Europe and beyond a fair bit and have seen plenty of pollards and I actually quite like them and will soon have my own !!

[treesrus]

You talk about the health of the tree, pollarded trees can, and do, live longer than "untouched" trees.

I'm not suggesting all trees should be pollarded.

Just that as a default method of managing certain species in towns it's fallen out of fashion with many people in the tree game. Often for the wrong reasons. Like for instance your assertion that it damages the trees health.

maybe i was not clear, i agree that pollarding is a better option for many town/street trees when done correctly and regularly, but i have often seen it done badly, which then does raise questions about the health of the tree.

secondly, if a tree is meant to be kept contained rather than pollarded, then crown thinning is preferable to badly, and irregular pollarding or, in other words, butchering.

i also forgot to add that topping is not a good thing for a tree - it's just a money making practice.

[Mick Dempsey]

How is thinning a tree containing it?

[simsimo]

Is it right to say that pollarding helps to contain the roots as well?

[Mick Dempsey]

Is it right to say that pollarding helps to contain the roots as well?

 

I'd be interested to know the answer to that question as well, I suspect yes.

[simsimo]

I've always thought that by reducing the canopy by either reductions or pollards then it would but is there any proof of it?

[Kveldssanger]

Root:shoot ratios. There will be a lag time of varying degrees, though reduction of the crown will impact upon root growth / death. And vice versa, of course.

[agg221]

I am creating pollards at ours. In some of our hedgerows there are sycamore of a suitable size and they will end up on a 7-8yr rotation for firewood. I have done some for the past couple of years and will do some more this winter.

 

There is a big difference in appearance between street tree pollards and rural pollards but I think both have their place.

 

Alec

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Is it right to say that pollarding helps to contain the roots as well?

 

"Contain" - That might not be the best way to think of it.

 

All things being equal, and given unrestricted rooting area, might it be better to think in terms of, the rooting area will only expand so far as is necessary to support and nourish the tree.

 

As such, perhaps a pollarded tree, with less wind sail effect, might require less rooting area?

 

So rather than "containing" roots, perhaps there is less requirement for them to spread laterally?

 

Just thinking out loud....

[Aunt Maud]

I've just started some Beech pollards on a neglected row of trees on our boundary. I took the lead shoot off one a couple of years ago and it's going well with shoots growing vertically into the space where the leader was.

 

It was a maiden about 30 yrs old. Next year I'll take off a few side branches and hopefully start to form the classic pollard shape.

 

The other four in the row have had their lead shoots taken off a couple of weeks ago. Those in between the pollards I've coppiced and it'll be interesting to see how things start to look next autumn.