Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Plants suitable for this treatment have the
ability to produce growth from old wood
either from buds beneath the bark (epicormal
buds), or from lignotubers as in the case of
eucalypts. It is best to start on youngish trees,
just a few years old, as their wounds are
smaller and heal quickly. Older trees cut back
this hard may not survive. In mature trees,
the heartwood will be exposed and rot may
set in, killing the tree.
Table 4.15
Trees suitable for pollarding or coppicing
All the species listed have the ability to regrow from old wood. It
should be noted that coppiced Eucalypts are more successful in
climates cooler than their homeland where their growth is more
reticent.
Treesforpollarding
Catalpabignonioides
Catalpa
Fraxinus
spp. Ash
Gleditsiatricanthus
Black Locust
Ilex
spp. Holly
Lagerstroemiaindica
Crepe myrtle
Morus
spp. Mulberry
Paulowniatomentosa
Foxglove tree
Platanus
spp. Plane tree
Salix
spp. Willow
Tilia
spp. Linden
Ulmusprocera
English elm
Coppicing
For foliage, ornamental stems and wood production
Betula
spp. Birch
Castaneasativa
Chestnut
Cornusalba
Tartar dogwood
Cornusstolonifera'
Flaviramea'
Corylusavellana
Hazel
E.cinerea
Argyle-apple
E.perriniana
Spinning gum
Eucalypt, Mallee species
Eucalypuspulverenta
Silver mountain gum
Fraxinusexelsaaurea
Golden Ash
Salix
spp.
Willow
This pruning method needs commitment.
The new growth is often poorly attached to
the tree; if it is allowed to mature it becomes a
dangerous, unstable branch. Whether you
pollard or coppice a plant for the beauty of its
winter stems, juvenile foliage, to control its
size or just to create a bizarre vegetable
sculpture, pollards especially need regular
pruning.
As so much of the plant's canopy is
removed, coppices and pollards need plenty of water
and nutrients to stay healthy
.
Pollarding
Pollarding is generally practised as a means
of reducing the tree's canopy in confined
spaces. Many suggest it would be better to
choose the right-sized plant for the space at
planting; others enjoy the look. Pollarding is
an aesthetically acquired taste. Essentially it
comprises a clear trunk and an enlarged stub
or stubs from which the masses of new
growth springs. The length of trunk was
desirable in agricultural systems to prevent
cattle eating the new growth. Pollarding is
from the Middle English word 'polle',
meaning 'head', a reference to the swollen
branch ends. They look like something
dreamed up by Dr Seuss.
for suitable species). The new whippy growth
could be harvested for basket-making or
woven into hurdles for stock control.
Sometimes it provided stock fodder, or when
older was used for firewood or construction
timber, depending on the species.
It meant that wood could be harvested
without killing the tree. Although it is still
practised throughout the world for these
reasons, I will be exploring its use in domestic
or urban landscapes.
