My brother sprang a nice surprise on me this weekend again with a visit with his chainsaw. He's buying a house and wants to make sure he does some jobs for me before he need to be working on his own place (and so that I'll also be available to help him when he gets it).
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| The big tree inthe middle is an old willow tree leaning into the field. |
Looking around the fields we decided that the one oak that needs a lot of work doing to it was too big of a task to do on a Sunday and he'd possibly need another climber with him, so we settled for some willows on the property line.
The whole hedge is overgrown and neglected but provides a nice barrier so I'm not going to attack it too much, but there are a few trees growing out over the field that need attention. The one willow was very rotten in the middle and would probably fall if left for too many more years. We decided to pollard it, so new growth would be produced at the top of the tree trunk (away from rabbits) and in this way it would have a new crop of wood on it in a few years time.
Trees used to be pollarded for many reasons, to produce a leaf hay to store food for animals in the winter, to produce timber for different things like basket making or hurdles and now people pollard to produce an attractive shape for their trees.
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| It needed climbing to tackle it so not a job for me! |
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| The tree pretty much finished with Dave just roped into the last branch |
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| The tree finished, this should regrow well and produce some more fire wood in a few years time |
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| One pile of firewood |
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| Even the smaller branches get used for fire wood when I'm cutting it up |
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| The second pile from another willow |
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| The piles of brash ready to be burnt when it's dried out a bit. |
As well as this willow Dave also managed to do another, much more awkward willow and a few small ash that were growing from the base of a much bigger tree, adding to the pile of future firewood.
Hopefully all this wood will go some way to provide for next years heating (once I've got it cut, split and stacked) and although I know it's not a great wood it still burns well in our wood burner if it's dry.
Anyone else been pollarding trees for firewood or other reasons?
I dont know if you count it as tree pruning or pollarding, I am not up on the lingo but my parents have beech trees that are a screen for harsh winds that are cut into oblongs at the top and no branches at the bottom of the truck all the way up to the top of the wall. maybe 5 feet? they have a man come and cut those and to do the conifer hedging once or twice a year. I dont know how he gets the hedges so straight it is like magic!
ReplyDeleteI dont even know if that all makes sense now I have read it. they are like lollipops with oblongs at the top not rounds. I am sure you all know what I mean.
not much worth burning from that. not even good for compost.
That's something you almost never see over here. Most folks would cut it off at ground level and plant something back. You sometimes see either complete or partial versions around power lines.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to cut it right down but the roots and base of the tree were so big that this made ore sense.
DeleteNo, I have never done it. Will it work on any tree? People around here frequently pollard crepe myrtle and it looks awful. There is no purpose to it really, other than perhaps to keep the crepe myrtles small. I think your trees are well suited to it however. Doing it for firewood makes sense.
ReplyDeleteNo it won;t work on every tree but it will with many. This was a good way of controlling this massive willow and getting something from it.
DeleteNo pollarding here but we did get through one whole winter on nothing but willow, burns well!
ReplyDeleteGood hear! Hopefully my willow coppice will start producing in a few years time and provide lots of firewood.
Deletethe tornado that destroyed the home that was here before I purchased the land took down 80+ oak trees and naturally pollarded the willows on the south property line. I'm learning to keep them that way but have a long way to go. I love the look.
ReplyDeleteWith that many trees down you won't be short of firewood for a few years! Keeping on top of jobs is tricky (like the trees) but it's easier than letting go and then trying to bring them back.
DeleteEven though my last name is Pollard, I cut them to the ground most of the time. I did leave wild cherry stumps this year to see if they will come back quicker for fire wood.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could tell, the family came to Virginia from Cornwall, lots of tree cutting there? LOL
Well Mr Pollard I don't know how many trees were done like that in cornwall but it was really common accorss England for a long time. On my fathers farm there was a big old oak tree with a massive oak gate post next to it, you could clearly see that the gate post had come from that very tree many years ago.
DeleteMaybe cutting trees is in my genes.
DeleteWe find that willow burns well. We still haven't done any pruning or pollarding this winter and will have to get our slates on.
ReplyDeleteGood Job done there
It can burn a little too well but with our fire we have the control to burn it a bit slower and get the heat out of it.
Deletewe had a big crack willow tree which fell last year, after a year it has a huge amount of new growth about 2 metres long all over. Hoping this will make good straight weaving material
ReplyDeleteI think the trouble with your plan is in the name, crack willow has a habit of snapping. There are speciality willows for the different types of tasks, I'm planning on planting some in my coppice so I can make hurdles or baskets should the mood take me in the future. I may be wrong with the crack willow so let me know how you get on.
Deleteive just found out what i was trying to describe is called pleaching. phew that was annoying me
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was a champion pleacher/hedge layer. There's an art to it but I've never done it, pleaching is normally in hedge laying, yours sounds like an aerial hedge?
Deleteit looks like the picture at the top of this....
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