If you’ve ever seen a row of roadside limes or willows cut back to head height with clusters of fresh upright shoots growing from the stumps, you’ve seen pollarding.
It can look alarming if you’re not expecting it. Some people assume something went wrong.
Done correctly, to the right species at the right time, it’s actually one of the most effective ways to manage tree size over the long term.
Pruning is what most people are more familiar with. It is the selective removal of branches to improve the structure, health, or appearance of a tree.
Both techniques involve cutting, but the similarities stop there. Choosing the wrong approach for your tree can cause lasting damage, so it’s worth understanding what each one actually does before any work gets started.
What is tree pruning?
Pruning is the selective removal of branches to achieve a specific aim.
That aim could be:
- removing deadwood that poses a falling risk
- thinning a dense canopy to improve light and airflow
- shaping a young tree as it develops
- cutting back branches that are encroaching on a dangerous area like a building, overhead line, or neighbouring garden
The type of pruning used depends on the tree and what it needs.
Formative pruning is carried out on young trees to establish a sound structure from the start.
Crown thinning removes a proportion of smaller branches from across the canopy without changing its overall shape.
Crown reduction brings down the height and spread of the whole canopy while keeping the tree’s natural form. Deadwooding removes dead, dying, or diseased material before it fails.
Good pruning follows the natural growth patterns of the tree.
Cuts are made to a lateral branch, a bud pointing in the right direction, or the branch collar, and the tree heals cleanly.
All professional pruning in the UK should be carried out to BS 3998, the British Standard for tree work. If a tree surgeon isn’t working to that standard, that’s worth knowing before you book.
What is tree pollarding?
Pollarding is the repeated removal of the upper branches of a tree back to the same point on the main stem or main scaffold branches, leaving a framework of stubs called a pollard head.
New growth shoots from these points each year, and the process is repeated on a regular cycle, typically every one to five years depending on the species and how quickly it grows.
The technique has been practised in Britain since at least Roman times, originally for practical reasons.
Pollarding produced a regular supply of thin, straight rods from willows, hazels, and ashes without killing the tree. Those rods were used for fencing, basket-making, charcoal, and animal fodder.
Many ancient pollards survive today, and some of the oldest managed trees in Britain are pollards that have been cut on the same cycle for hundreds of years.
In a modern garden or urban setting, pollarding is used to keep fast-growing trees at a manageable size, particularly where they’d otherwise outgrow their space, cast too much shade, or grow too close to buildings.
London planes along city streets are commonly pollarded. So are limes, poplars, and willows in parks and private gardens across Scotland.
The key differences between pruning and pollarding
Pruning is generally a lighter intervention that works with the tree’s existing shape. Pollarding is a more dramatic technique that fundamentally changes how a tree grows by redirecting all new growth from the same fixed points on each successive cut.
Commitment to the service
A tree that has been pollarded must continue to be pollarded on a regular cycle. If the new growth is left too long before being cut back, the attachment points become structurally weak and the heavy stems can fail in wind or under their own weight.
You can’t pollard a tree once and walk away from it; the first cut starts a cycle that needs to be maintained.
Sustainability
Pruning can be applied to almost any tree in some form. Pollarding is suitable only for species with a strong capacity for regrowth from cut stems.
Applied to the wrong tree, it doesn’t produce the desired flush of new shoots. It kills it.
Which trees are suitable for pollarding?
The species that respond well to pollarding are broadly those that produce vigorous epicormic growth from dormant buds on the stem or older wood when they’re cut hard. In Scotland, the most commonly pollarded species include:
- Willows (Salix species) – probably the most widely pollarded tree in Britain, particularly beside water
- Lime (Tilia species) – regularly pollarded in formal avenues and urban settings
- London plane (Platanus x acerifolia) – pollarded extensively on streets across the UK
- Poplar – fast-growing and responds well to regular cutting back
- Ash – traditionally pollarded for rod production, though any decision about ash now needs to account for ash dieback
- Sycamore – often pollarded in exposed locations to keep size and wind resistance manageable
Trees that should not be pollarded include most conifers (they don’t produce epicormic growth and won’t recover from hard cutting), most oaks (they can struggle to respond and the technique rarely suits their growth pattern), and ornamental cherries, magnolias, and similar species where the natural form is the point and hard pruning causes structural and health problems.
If you’re unsure whether your tree is a good candidate, a tree survey from a qualified arborist is the right starting point rather than finding out the hard way.
When is the right time to prune or pollard?
For most deciduous trees, late winter or early spring is the preferred window for both pruning and pollarding.
The tree is dormant, the wound is exposed for the shortest possible time before new growth closes it over, and the absence of leaves makes it easier to see the structure clearly and make considered cuts.
There are exceptions.
Trees that bleed sap heavily in late winter, such as birch and maple, are better pruned in late summer when sap flow has reduced. Prunus species such as cherries, plums, ornamental cherries are best pruned in summer when the risk of silver leaf disease spreading through fresh wounds is lower.
For pollarding specifically, late winter is generally considered the best time, giving the tree a full growing season to produce the new flush of growth from the pollard head.
In some cases, a light cut in late summer is used for species grown for colourful winter stems.
Pollarding vs coppicing: worth knowing the difference
Coppicing and pollarding are often mentioned together because they follow the same underlying principle. They cut back hard to stimulate vigorous regrowth.
The difference is where the cut is made.
Coppicing is cutting to near ground level, producing multiple stems from a stool at the base. Pollarding is cutting higher up on the trunk, keeping the new growth above the reach of browsing animals.
Traditionally, coppicing produced the thin rods used in hurdle-making, charcoal production, and hedging. Pollarding was used where deer or livestock grazing made coppicing impractical.
Both techniques have been used in British woodland management for centuries, and coppiced woodland supports a distinct range of habitats and plant species because of the varying light levels created by the cutting cycle.
Do you need permission before pruning or pollarding?
For most trees in a private garden, no permission is required. There are two situations where you do need consent before any work starts.
If a tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), you must apply to your local planning authority for consent before carrying out any work, including pruning. Working on a TPO tree without consent can result in an unlimited fine and a prosecution.
If a tree is within a Conservation Area, you must give the local authority six weeks’ written notice before carrying out work. This gives them the opportunity to apply a TPO if they feel the tree warrants protection.
A reputable tree surgeon will check TPO status as a matter of course before beginning any job.
Contact GGM Landscaping for experienced pollarding and pruning services
Pruning a small shrub or low-growing tree with good secateurs and a pruning saw is a reasonable DIY task if you know what you’re doing. Most tree work above head height is not.
Working at height with chainsaws carries serious risks, and a poorly made cut on a large branch can cause structural splitting that takes years to become apparent. Removing a branch incorrectly, cutting at the wrong angle, or leaving stubs rather than cutting to the branch collar all compromise the tree’s ability to heal. The damage doesn’t always show up immediately.
For pollarding in particular, the first pollard on a tree that’s never been pollarded before should always be carried out by someone who knows the technique and the species well. Getting the initial cut height and framework wrong creates problems that follow the tree for the rest of its managed life.
If you are looking for experienced pruning of pollarding GGM Landscaping is here for you. We hold City & Guilds NPTC qualifications, and carry out all work to BS 3998.
Get in touch with our skilled team today to learn more and receive your free quote on 07946 322717