Treecreeper1961

Yeah sure. BS3998:2010 P31, 7.10 Pollarding The document recommends that pollards which have lapsed for many years should be crown reduced rather than cut back to the knuckle in one go (pole thin). It is also recommended to leave live growth and select stems to be retained for photosynthetic energy. Cutting live stubs is also recommended to create new growth points and reduce the possibility of dysfunction spreading below the knuckle or original pollard. Looking at the original photo in this thread: 1. Would you consider the pollard to have 'lapsed for many years'? 2. Would you consider a more phased approach to re-establishing the cycle of this pollard or indeed crown reduce it instead? 3. Would you treat other spp. differently to willow? 4. When undertaking following cycles at the interval you stated, would you endeavor to leave live growth where possible or do you consider the way willow responds makes this unnecessary? Also, 5. with willow's poor compartmentalisation ability and lack of heartwood should extra attention be paid to minimizing dysfunction and creating a knuckle or does the proliferation of regrowth make up for this? And, 6. do you know how long willow pollards in proper cycle will live and remain viable compared to other species? 7.On what basis do you recommend the re-pollard cycle, ease of management, best practice to minimize dysfunction, produce, aesthetics or all of these? Have just initiated a candelabra pollard on a willow approximately 30cm diameter at 4m in a woodland setting! Will await response with interest. Ben, or as someone recently called me, Creeper.

There is guidance to restoring lapsed pollards in BS2998:2010. The onus is on phased reduction rather than immediate removal of stems back to the original pollard. Willow responds exceptionally well to coppicing and pollarding but would you follow that recommendation on any lapsed willow pollards or not? Pros and cons of each please.

Wait for a big flood and cut 'em all off. Sorted.

Have you completed a risk assessment to use one of those thing easyliftguy. You really shouldn't stand under the branch your cutting, Know what I mean?

Did he think you are an American only to discover you are actually Canadian?

Almost certainly.

A dry, coarse, hard, tasty oat cake. Full of flavour, slow release energy and grit. Oh yeah, no messing, loads of fiber.

Probably wise words.

If you have the money, get it remarked or at least get your paper so you can read their comments. I wonder who does the marking. Is it the examiner that took the exercise on the day or do they verify the papers between themselves?

I have completed the Tech Cert this year(Yey!) Throughout the entire process I felt like I was entering a world that was just ever so slightly exclusive. In that I don't mean the kudos you might gain from the outcome, but more that there is an air of secrecy surrounding it that feels like a barrier to the uninitiated. I guess some clubs are harder to join than others. I must say though, Arbs are generally a really good bunch. The Treelife Prep course was such an easy environment to be part of and you lot on here seem equally without heirs and graces. Thanks for that.

It is not 'them' we should not be taking seriously but the current establishment that keeps the interest of the rich and powerful to the foremost. Not just the current establishment as they are but puppets too. There are so many better alternatives out there. Why don't we use them?

It should be a thread to raise awareness of the health risks associated with the machinery and fuel we all use on a daily basis. There is loads of evidence and scientific studies to confirm what should be obvious to anyone that works in the industry. Have you ever held a hedgecutter at head height for eight hours in a day, cut big stumps with a beast of a saw, reduced leylandii hedges on a still cold, damp day? The fumes hang around and soak into your clothes and every pore in you skin. It may be convenient to ignore the issue. At the end of the day it's our livelihoods. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Or does it just kill you later? Maybe not. Maybe you are not genetically pre-disposed to certain diseases. Maybe you are. How do you know? Do you care? 3-Dost-PowersawEmissions.pdf Professional Users - A case for Aspen.pdf

Than you Gardenkit, my point exactly

You say that David, but the reality is that exhaust fumes are really bad for us and the effects may not be immediately noticed. The accumulative effects are far more of a concern than the short term health issues.

Fungi On Trees the AA field guide.

Treelife do a day course specifically on BS5837. I may do that this year even though I passed!

Cricket pitch!

2. Right, so how exactly do you examine spores. I have read 'spore print' time and again without really understanding. The gill colour represent spore colour or do you need to get them sporulating? 2. Only going by what I have read but doesn't P. squarrosa create selective delignification in early stages? Obviously the lower decay is far from early stage but as it rises up the stem perhaps?

1.That's interesting. What do these melanine plaques represent, in theory? When I identified the fruiting bodies on the less decayed side I was confident they were P.squarrosa by remnants of scales and after dissecting the stalk. Perhaps I was wrong or perhaps they are both present. Will I have to wait another year to find out? The tree will be down by then. 2.No, I have not seen any evidence of Ganoderma. Why do you ask? 3.I was wondering if anyone would pick up on the little red fruits. N. peziza. Thats new to me. Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Thanks for that Matty, sounds like an ideal management scenario, client who likes trees, has money and an arb. who knows how to do a good job. Thought it was a pollard.

Verena, Very sorry to hear you failed unit 5. I was expecting to also but I must have got lucky and scraped it. Overall I got a merit, surprised, relieved and delighted. Keep at it! I think requesting your paper is definitely the right thing to do. Learn from your mistakes to be as prepared as you can be next time. Shrub, keep going too. I have met more than a few who have done two resits. As gutting as it must be, make it a new years resolution. I'm sure there will be help on arbtalk from all, I wish I had joined last year! Ben

Fair play they do look good, quite a challenge to get to most of those cuts without breaking branches or your neck. Just wondering, how much was removed, what was the aim, how long do you reckon the aim will be satisfied for? Is there an agreement/plan for follow up pruning?

Yes of course, stub cuts are only recommended in some specialist restoration work. I am just struggling with the fact that the growth habit of some trees make it impossible to reduce the crown to a specified amount and avoid stub cuts, with few or no suitable branches/twigs within the crown to cut back to.

It is a shame, stubs apart it looks like a reasonably proportioned reduction. Bloody hard to do, near impossible on some trees with rope and harness. I attended a seminar on interpreting the recommendations of BS3998:2010. The need for accurately specifying reductions was stressed due to the potential for percentage specifications being interpreted differently by different folk. Volume percentage reductions backed up by length of branches removed. That is all well and said but in my experience if you are working to those specs. stub cuts are going to be a problem. Seems to me that drop crotch pruning is the best way to describe reductions like this. Some trees just seem impossible to reduce the volume without stuuubbs, as all branches reach for and end at the outer canopy, especially the sympodial growth of sycamores.It is then almost a case of stubs or just thinning the outer edge of the crown creating a wavy uneven silhouette. Unfortunately, a lot of reductions I end up doing are way too sever, fighting the tide of outdated thinking. Do you know what I mean or is it just me, trees don't always or often conform to the 'best' way of doing things.

Fair play, Chas and Dave and the wife's car, that is the funniest signotoire or whatever they are called, really made me laugh. Thanks. Forgot to say, my kids are sponsoring mine by washing my van under the promise I will donate some cash.