Periodic pruning is essential for tree canopy management. Pollarding is one of the tree services that you may need for the trees in your yard. So, what is pollarding, and how can you benefit from it?
Our team at Earthworks Tree Services specializes in urban tree care in Buncombe and Madison Counties, North Carolina. Here, we define tree pollarding and outline its importance and key benefits.
Tree Pollarding: What Is It?
Pollarding is a tree-pruning technique that helps manage a tree’s shape and size while promoting new branch growth. It’s usually necessary for oversized trees and those that no longer fulfill their intended purpose.
The primary difference between tree trimming and pruning is purpose. Trimming involves removing branches to enhance a plant’s visual appeal, while pruning focuses on tree health and growth control.
When pollarding, tree care experts control a tree’s growth by cutting its branches back to a specific point. The process shortens the plant’s crown by cutting the branches around the same height. It also eliminates crossing limbs and lower branches.
When To Prune Your Trees Using Pollarding
Consider pollarding if your trees are growing too big for your yard. The oversized canopies can get too close to your home, power lines, or other structures. If you schedule pollarding once, expect to schedule additional appointments every two to five years to maintain the tree’s health, size, and aesthetics.
Can You Pollard All Types of Trees?
It’s best to pollard young trees, especially while they’re dormant. Older trees take a long time to regrow and sprout leaves.
When it comes to specific species, the following are the most common types that undergo pollarding:
- Quercus or oaks
- Fraxinus or ash trees
- Ulmus or elms
- Morus or mulberry trees
- Eucalyptus or gum trees
- Liriodendron or tulip trees
Even if you have one of these trees in your yard, don’t take a cookie-cutter approach to tree management. It may benefit from other pruning techniques. Pollarding is best when done on a case-by-case basis.
The Importance of Pollarding Trees
You now know the answer to “What is pollarding a tree?” But why is it important? Repeated pruning of upper and some lower branches keeps the tree at an optimal size for the space it occupies. However, the tree still blooms during its regrowth cycles, sprouting attractive leaves that enhance the plant’s overall visual appeal.
Here is a closer look at what pollarding can do for your trees.
Increased Visual Appeal
The look of a pollarded tree is enticing to many people. The cut branches developed unique knobs on their tips. When the tree reenters its growing cycle, it will create a stunning, full canopy without taking up too much space or shading your property too much.
Improved Plant Health
The pollarding process may seem drastic and harmful, but it helps promote healthy plant growth. By cutting off the upper branches, new shoots will emerge from the trunk. This process leads to a thicker yet more confined canopy.
The branch removal also helps reduce the spread of diseases and pests. Pruning removes infested, infected, and weak branches. This prevents any affliction from spreading throughout the plant, which can jeopardize its overall health.
Enhanced Safety
Your yard may also become safer if you pollard your trees. As part of the branch removal process, tree care experts target weakened or decayed limbs that could break and fall. Falling branches in urban areas can cause property damage and injuries, as well as power outages if they should hit a nearby utility line.
Tree Topping Versus Pollarding
People often confuse tree pollarding with tree topping. While they produce similar-looking results, these pruning techniques aren’t the same.
Topping a tree is the indiscriminate removal of upper branches. This kind of pruning creates massive open wounds that could lead to decay, disease, or an insect infestation. The sudden loss of foliage also weakens the roof system, reducing its structural strength.
Pollarding, on the other hand, preserves the tree’s natural shape and is best performed in winter when the plant is dormant to minimize stress and promote healing. Unlike topping, pollarding doesn’t cause permanent structural damage.
Get Professional Tree Maintenance Solutions Today
Since you know the answer to “What is pollarding a tree?” turn to Earthworks Tree Services for effective tree trimming and pruning solutions in Western North Carolina. Our fully licensed and insured specialists follow safety protocols and industry-leading techniques to care for trees. We offer everything from plant health care to stump grinding.
Contact Earthworks Tree Services today at (828) 774-1984 to request services.