The origin of pollarding

Originally the word “poll” described the top of the head so pollarding essentially means to remove the top of the tree. It involves the regular cutting of upper branches back to the main trunk during the dormant season, generally late September to early March. The purpose of traditional pollarding was to encourage several new side and top shoots from the main trunk, so firewood and other coppice products were readily available year on year at a manageable height.

Trees are ideally first pollarded when they have grown above the desired height, usually around chest height. This usually happens when the tree is young, between 5-15 years old depending on the species. Older trees can also be pollarded – success depends on aspects such as species and age. Trees are then re-pollarded on a regular schedule to maintain the structure of the tree.

Pollarding is an effective technique in areas that are grazed. Because the trees are cut higher up on the trunk, all new growth is out of reach of hungry grazing animals, such as cattle. The new growth was therefore safe from being eaten before it could mature enough to be cut again.

Why do we pollard trees today?

In an urban setting, the main reason to pollard trees today is to prevent tall trees from obstructing phone lines, or electricity cables. The process of pollarding also hinders the growth of tree roots and so can help protect pipe works.

There are several benefits to pollarding for wildlife conservation:

• Increasing light levels on the ground, giving ground level flowers the chance to bloom. This also has the added benefit in grazing pastures of increasing the fields productivity.
• Thinning the crown which improves air circulation.
• Extending the healthy lifespan of the tree – the branches are regularly cut and so diseases have little time to infect the growing wood. The trees are prevented from outgrowing their local environment.
• In certain species, older trees can be rejuvenated by pollarding.

Willow is fantastic at spreading across an area – branches get heavy and lean towards the ground.

Once touching the ground, the branch shoots out roots which establish themselves. Over time, willow “creeps” along the ground spreading its canopy and over-shading plants growing underneath.

Pollarding willow drastically reduces this effect, leading to increased ground flora diversity.