Jim Curtis

Thanks for your advice Dan, much appreciated.

Hi Martin, thanks for your suggestion, sorry I didn't reply sooner but I thought the thread was dead and I'd stopped checking back. I'm interested in what you've said, it differs from the other advice received, are you saying that you'd recommend against re-pollarding the tree just above the previous pollard points? That basically you'd suggest pruning the tree? Is this because the tree will remain healthier or will look better aesthetically? I'm interested in what you're suggesting but could you elaborate a little? Thanks if you're able to help.

Really helpful advice there Dan, thank you very much for being so specific about the location and type of cut, I really want to get it right, and I'll do that research beforehand as you suggest. I've been fortunate to get so much help from you and your colleagues at Arbtalk.

Very grateful for your insights Chris, thank you I'll probably keep reading up on the subject before carrying out the work, there's a lot more to it than it first appears.

Thank you Dan, I'll definitely keep on top of it in the future.

Thank you Mick, everything I needed to know, very grateful to you and Arbtalk.

Just outside Cambridge (UK). One of the downsides of moving to a new area is having to build all contacts and local knowledge from scratch, things that take years to build and are too easily taken for granted. There are upsides however. Apparently.

Hello arborists I wonder if anyone can help with some advice. I've just moved to a house with a nice horse chestnut tree in the front garden. Tree was pollarded at a height of around 4m some time ago. New growth from each pollard cut point in the form of straight-ish poles are up to 4" thick at the base and up to 5m long. Drains and drive seem undamaged by tree, which has a pleasant shape and apart from the leaf issue which affects HCs seems healthy. I would like to keep the tree. There is a TPO on it and I will observe the necessary protocols. My questions are, would I be advised to re-pollard the tree? if so at what point above the original pollard cut should the new growth be cut? should the cut be angled or square? And most importantly for me, what time of year should this be done to minimise any threat to the health of the tree? I'm quite capable of the practical work myself, I live in an area where there is plenty of work for arborists and they seem thin on the ground, anyway it seems dishonest to ask someone round for technical advice when you intend to do the work yourself. I was hoping readers of this forum would be prepared to offer advice on the subject, and I'm grateful for any suggestions.