Traditional pollarding

[stig]

We've had many ( and spirited) discussions about pollarding here.

So when I passed these pollarded willows on my way home, I thought I'd snap a couple of pictures for y'all.

It used to be that almost all roads here were lined by pollarded willows and poplars.

They were started and kept low enough for the tops to be reached from the ground.

The branches that were cut were an important source of material for baskets, fencing, household treen or firewood, depending on how often they were pollarded.

Those trees are all gone.

Once the need for branches disappeared, and they weren't pollarded regularly, the trees collapsed, since most often they become hollow ofter a century or two.

So this is a a rare sight indeed.

 

[Burnham]

Very cool...how old do you suppose those are, Stig?

 

[stig]

Not very.
Less than a century.

 

[Koala]

The branches that were cut were an important source of material for baskets, fencing, household treen or firewood, depending on how often they were pollarded.

Those trees are all gone.

Once the need for branches disappeared, and they weren't pollarded regularly, the trees collapsed, since most often they become hollow ofter a century or two.

So this is a a rare sight indeed.

It happened the same with Mulberrys here. When I get the chance I'll take some pics.

Here 's an article on this tradition here and about pollarding in general.
Quite interesting.

http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/2acte_10_ferrini.pdf

 

[Tucker943]

To be honest, I don't know that I have ever even seen a tree that has been pollarded. It looks beautiful in its own way. I would not pollard my own trees, as I find more beauty in large trees, but I think its still a really cool art. I wish I knew how to do it.

 

[brendonv]

I really love pollards. Haven't seen one nor right nor done one. I'd like to plant a sycamore or something to trial on this year.

I planted an ornamental funky cherry for my parents I had planned on pollarding. Not sure it will take but what the hey.

 

[woodworkingboy]

The pile of Willow branches looks useful too. is there some local artisan that will take advantage of them?

 

[Tucker943]

I bet a sycamore would look like art!

 

[Porkbrick]

how bout something like this?

 

[Tucker943]

No smoking in there!

 

[Porkbrick]

not sure if it was the same artist but, a client of ours had commissioned a piece like that in their yard. it was half assembled and huge, no fasteners and willow whips were the only materials used. it cost an ungodly amount of money and will rot in a year or so (it had plastic under it to keep the willow from rooting). i wondered at the time if he had a huge orchard of pollarded willows to source his materials.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Would that be considered more of a coppice than a pollard Stig? Not what you did with them, but what was done in the past.

 

[stig]

I wasn't involved, Stephen, just passed them driving by and stopped to take pictures.

As I understand it a coppicing is done at almost ground level.

 

[treebogan]

Pollards were high to stop live stock from eating the shoots,there was grass beneath pollards.Kind of like old time agro forestry.Coppicing was I beleive in woodlands devoted to the production of items from the regrowth.Anything from baskets to Tool handles.

Here in Bergen there are many old pollards,some of which are over 300 years old.These are mostly around historical buildings but some are also along old roads.I don"t do alot of pollarding Mature Trees,however its asked for occasionally.I have spent a few misterable weeks repollarding a lane of Trees,cutting off about three years growth.

Here Pollarding is called Knutekolling

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I asked because I thought pollards have some branch structure. Where as coppice would not. Those just look like high stumps to me. I am inclined to listen to the European guys as it is such an old practice.

 

[Porkbrick]

if you google this address, "987 Martin Street, California, United States", you can see some pollards more along the lines you are talking about stephan. old state hospital and the surrounding neighborhoods have quite a few nice pollarded sycamores.

and here too, the main plaza of the hospital. 987 Martin Street, California, United States

 

[CurSedVoyce]

We have one beauty here, fruitless mulberry, that I am particularly fond of. BIG ol knuckles. I keep forgetting to get a pic of it. I finally was down there the other day with my camera, and the battery went dead. Picture jinx I tell ya!




I love pollards in the right setting and tree. I like watching the knuckles form on them year after year.

Not to derail, but we will probably be trying our hand at Espalier with an apple tree and see how we do. Maybe some other fruit trees as well.

 

[Koala]

To be honest, I don't know that I have ever even seen a tree that has been pollarded. It looks beautiful in its own way. I would not pollard my own trees, as I find more beauty in large trees, but I think its still a really cool art. I wish I knew how to do it.

Mulberrys were pollarded here mostly to feed silkworms (Bombyx mori http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombyx_mori) with their leaves.
Farmers families used to keep these worms on special tables/boxes in their kitchen, the warmest place of the house, feeding them with Mulberry leaves more than one time a day. So they pollarded the trees to increase leaves production. They also used the sticks for baskets.

I understand this practice in this way, when it is useful. Ornamental purpose I don't get it.
IMO I wouldn't even consider it art nor say that a pollarded tree looks beatiful. Beautiful was how people found a way to use these trees as a resource trying to cause less damage possible.
Trees in their natural shape are art.

Too many people today top trees and call it pollarding :what:

 

[High Scale]

I was re-pollarding Beech trees today, very unusual, I don't think I have seen such large pollarded Beech before, it was not joyous work.

 

[Peter]

Beech are an unusual choice.

I work on lots and lots of willow, all planted to stabilise drainage ditches and streams. Some of them are extremely crumbly, but almost all are vigorous.

 

[Al Smith]

In the older section of this cow town one street is just lined both sides with big fat old catalpa trees .For obvious reason it's called catapla avenue .Probabley late 60's early 70's they tough pruned those things to about maybe a 6-8 feet canopy spread .Surprisingly it didn't kill the trees .They just look odd .A fat old gnarly 3 foot diameter tree with a dixie cup for a hat so to speak .

 

[stig]

I asked because I thought pollards have some branch structure. Where as coppice would not. Those just look like high stumps to me. I am inclined to listen to the European guys as it is such an old practice.

You are right.
But for some reason the willows and poplars here were done with "one head".
Probably to facilitate harvesting the regrowth.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I looked further into it. Those would be considered a single stem pollard. By definition, where I found it, a polllard is considered a high coppice. The article also made reference to Shigo in regards to proper pollarding and pruning.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/tree_pruning/pollarding/index.html
Someone in the master gardeners told me a single stem would be a coppice as pollard has some limbs for shape. I guess I get to pass some new info onto them Learn something new every day in this place

 

[Birdy]

Pollarding from what I remember/read was done for a combination of reasons some of which have already been mentioned. In Somerset on the levels rows of lapsed pollards can be seen which have been re-pollarded it seems they were grown to hold the ditch bank up and pollarded to stop cattle eating the branches. The pollard head was harvested for withy's to make baskets etc. In larger cities in Europe pollarding was done to allow large trees to grow in confined areas e.g. London planes in London. Coppicing and pollarding on a single stem would seem to be the same thing with a diferent term. Although I understood Coppicing to be more production oriented, coppicing sweet chestnut, ash hazel, birch, oak etc for stakes, palings, charcoal, fuel, walking sticks, building materials etc. I think its just a case of what was the purpose or area I never heard of a street tree being coppiced or a tree in a forest being pollarded. But where I live now in Minnesota it seems perfectly normal to pollard an Amur maple in a yard.

Just my two penny's worth.

 

[Bermy]

Here are some pollarded street trees in Victoria...managed to get a picture while we were stopped at the lights, they look like plane trees. This was in 2009
I haven't seen any while in Tas....but the elms in our village were cut regularly in years gone by because of the power lines, they could well have been pollarded, because the power went underground years ago and the trees have all grown out and look pretty good. If they'd have been just topped, I don't think they would be in as good shape as they are.