Pollarding Trees for Survival | Answers to 7 FAQs -

Pollarding bushes is a pruning and woodland administration methodology that you could be use for aesthetic and survival functions. This system could end in “lollipop bushes”, and it may well additionally offer you a wooden provide.

Proceed studying to be taught extra about pollarding bushes.

Every part You Must Know About Pollarding Timber

What Is Pollarding?

Do you know that the phrase “ballot” initially referred to an individual’s head? This is the reason “to ballot” was a phrase that meant “to crop the hair”.

Pollarding refers to a tree and woodland administration system that encourages the elimination of the tree’s higher branches. The method entails slicing again of a tree almost to its trunk. This retains the vegetation smaller than their pure measurement and form.

Because the pollarded tree grows, a dense mass of branches or foliage seems on the tree’s high and sides. This makes the tree look considerably swollen or expanded.

Nonetheless, as soon as you start the pollarding course of, you need to frequently keep the identical peak of the tree by pruning.

What Is the Function of Pollarding Timber?

Historically, this methodology was sometimes practiced in Europe approach again the medieval instances primarily for 2 causes:

to offer grazing animals with pollard hay
to provide wooden pollards

These days, this method takes place globally to keep up bushes at a sure peak, which is principally for decorative functions.

However pollarding bushes additionally present ample shade in agroforestry methods.

Different sensible functions of pollarding bushes embody:

creating daring foliage
limiting the highest development of bushes
stopping bushes from rising out of their bounds or their allotted house
maintaining bushes planted in parks or on streets extra compact
rising bushes in an city surroundings the place they are often positioned underneath utility strains and road lights with out tangling them

Pollarding bushes additionally supplies a approach to make use of wooden from the identical tree for a number of years. With this, you wouldn’t have to chop down the tree and have solely one-time use of its wooden.

Moreover, pollarding bushes nonetheless creates a yearly harvest of branches that you should utilize for:

gas
boat building
fencing
baskets

Is Pollarding Good for Timber?

Sure! Since pollarding entails interval slicing, it makes bushes stay longer.

Pollarding decreases the expansion price of bushes, and it retains them in a juvenile stage. This is the reason with pollarding, bushes can attain higher ages. This ends in many bushes surviving as historical or veteran bushes.

As well as, the age of pollarded bushes is definitely older than how they give the impression of being. This implies that you may’t precisely inform their age utilizing their girth, identical to what you’d do with regular bushes.

Is Pollarding the Identical as Coppicing?

Pollarding bushes and coppicing are each pruning methods that you could be use on totally different tree species. Chances are you’ll use these strategies to create younger stems and daring leaves.

Coppicing is a standard methodology that produces robust stems. This course of entails slicing bushes to nearly floor stage.

Pollarding bushes is like coppicing. However on this method, bushes are reduce to their stump, round two meters or six ft above the bottom.

Each pollarding bushes and coppicing produce stems and shoots that you could be use for:

Nonetheless, pollarding bushes was the popular methodology over coppicing with regards to grazed areas or wooden pastures.

It’s because coppicing was an issue for individuals who work within the woods who additionally owned livestock.

Since coppicing entails slicing of bushes to close floor stage, the brand new shoots would develop as much as the identical stage of the pasture. So woodsmen opted to pollard the bushes as a substitute. This manner, the bushes would develop to a peak away from searching and hungry animals.

How Is Pollarding Carried out?

As soon as a tree has reached a sure peak, you could begin to pollard it.

Lower any decrease limbs in addition to crossing limbs on the tree. Ideally, depart a trunk to help three to 5 branches. Then, reduce these branches as effectively to your required size. These branches would be the ones to type a framework.

After trimming, the tree should appear to be a barren stick. However don’t worry. New shoots will quickly seem on the finish of the branches, and a crown or “pollard head” may even type.

You need to repeat the slicing course of each few years to keep up the form of the bushes. Nonetheless, the frequency of trimming relies on why you might be pollarding.

If you wish to hold a landscaping design or diminish the scale of your bushes, you’ll want to pollard each two years. In the meantime, if you’ll want to have a sustainable firewood supply, pollard bushes each 5 years.

But when the pollarded tree has already overgrown, we advocate that you just seek the advice of an arborist earlier than slicing the tree.

It’s because an overgrown pollard tree could develop heavy branches. Moreover, it could undergo from overcrowding and ailments due to elevated humidity. Due to this fact, it must endure surgical procedure to eradicate its giant components.

Alternatively, you could do the next to restore a pollarded tree:

Do away with weak and thin branches.
Attempt to scale back the size of branches to by some means restore the pollarded tree to a standard tree.
Some tree species, such because the London airplane, reply to a therapy whereby you narrow all of the branches that grew from the previous tree stump.
Alternatively, oak, ash, and hornbeam bushes do finest while you retain appreciable components of their principal branches.

Remember that while you do main work in your bushes, intently monitor them to find out in the event that they require additional upkeep.

Professional Tip: At all times decide younger bushes for pollarding as a result of they regrow higher and quicker than older bushes.

What Is the Greatest Time to Pollard Timber?

It’s a must to pollard a tree whereas it’s dormant. Because of this you’ll want to undertake pollarding from January to March or late winter to early spring.

As well as, fungal infections, in addition to bugs, are minimal when it’s chilly. This will hold the bushes much less vulnerable to ailments.

However there are some exceptions.

For example, walnut bushes are finest pollarded in July. As well as, summer time is most fitted for pollarding maple bushes.

Nonetheless, the expansion of recent shoots of those bushes throughout this time could also be poor as a consequence of drought or scorch.

Which Timber Can Be Pollarded?

Not all bushes are good candidates for pollarding. However the forms of bushes which could be efficiently pruned are the next:

Oak
Chestnut
Catalpa
Sycamore
Airplane
Black locust
Hornbeam
Ash
Willow
Yew
Tulip
Lime
Beech
Mulberry
Elm

Take a look at this video by Richard Perkins to study pollarding younger forests:

Pollarding bushes could be useful to your backyard for a wide range of causes.

This methodology can forestall bushes from outgrowing their allotted house. It could even be vital for city areas the place bushes could hinder wires, cables, and different non-public properties.

However extra importantly, this method means that you can frequently harvest wooden to your survival and supply meals to your livestock.

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