[Fwd: Re: [Fwd: Acacia et al.]]

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  • To: e*@columbia.edu
  • Subject: Re: [Fwd: Acacia et al.]
  • From: h*@ccnet.com (Jerry Heverly)
  • Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 21:21:30 -0800 (PST)
>If you read Loren Russell's message about the practice you will see that
>I'm not exaggerating about "abhor and revile."
>Coppicing or "pollarding" is the periodic (annual or biannual) radical
>pruning of full-grown trees in mid-winter, leaving the trunk with a
>rosette of stumps.  Admittedly not very sightly for a couple of months,
>but contributing to a vigorous and healthy canopy within a very short
>time.  The prunings are used for stakes, firewood, forage, etc. The
>purpose can differ according to the tree.  For roadside plane-trees, or
>those near houses an important reason is to make sure all branches are
>young, healthy and unlikely to cause damage.  Shade is also
>important--this creates the densest canopies.  Outdoor restaurants in
>France Italy Greece etc, have dense shady"pergolas" made of the
>pollarded branches of mulberies trained on a grid of wire.
>I wonder if anyone has any information about whether this increases the
>long-term health and longevity of the trees in question.  A successful
>centuries old practice cannot be dismissed as ... what, sheer sadism?
>
The key distinction here has to do with the age of the plant when one
starts the coppicing/pollarding.  If you wait till the tree is nearly
mature you lose the ability to do the european style of pruning.  First on
true coppicing/pollarding from the best pruning book I know of(*Pruning and
Training* by Chrisitopher Brickell and David Joyce, Dorling Kindersley Ltd,
London, 1996, Published in the US by DK Publishing Inc, NY):

        Coppicing is the regular, sometimes annual, cutting back of a tree
to ground level to obtain vigorous, new young stems.  These were
traditionally cut in winter to be used for firewood, basketwork, barriers,
and as poles...Coppicing can prolong tree life indefinitely when the cuts
are clean and fast-healing, as produced by ancient tools such as billhooks
and axes.  Roughly sawn coppice is unlikely to be so long lasting.
        A similar renewable supply of wood was produced by pollarding, but
here the shoots arose from the head of a clear tree trunk, from which all
branches had been cut away."
        The important thing is to begin the process when the tree is young.
        "Buy or train a suitable young tree...with a well-branched head on
a clear stem of about 2m.  Once established in its planting site, but
before its stem has a diameter much more than 10-13 cm in late winter or
early spring saw through  the main stem just above the lowest cluster of
branches.  Cut these back to 2.5-8 cm of the main stem.  Treat the
resulting mass of shoots as an established pollard...To maintain the
effect, prune every one to three years....Use sharp tools and make sure
that the enlarged head of the pollarded main stem is not damaged."

        What is done in the US commonly is that homeowner wake up one day
and discover that their pretty little fruitless mulberry is Godzilla with
leaves.  A call is made to the local tree service.  They obligingly shorten
all the limbs to a few feet from the main stem leaving a hellaciously good
coat rack in their wake. The leading arboriculture text in the US calls
this dehorning.  Research has shown that this practice stimulates hormones
in the tree associated with senescence, i.e. premature aging.  In part
because the pruning is done with a chain saw the branches that grow in
response to this practice(called adventitious growth) are weakly attached
to the larger limbs.  If they aren't cut again in each succeeding year they
become hazards, often falling on automobiles and structures.
        Much of the controversy over pollarding/dehorning in California
boils down to aesthetics:  what you think looks good.
Jerry Heverly, Oakland, CA

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