Pollarding My Linden Trees
In order to keep my all my gardens, allées, and groves as beautiful as possible, I pay lots of attention to the maintenance and care of all my trees. This time of year, my outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning many of the trees, including my lindens.
Lindens, Tilia, are medium to large sized shade trees that are easy to maintain and attractive in any landscape. I have two linden tree allées - one that runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the chicken coops and the other slightly older allée near my stable. These trees, with their pyramidal shape and slow growth, are excellent specimens for the type of pruning called pollarding, a very severe method that involves cutting back on the main limbs, or even all the way down to the top of the trunk to promote the growth of club-headed stems and dense new foliage and branches. Pollarding should be done annually. We started pollarding these lindens in 2021, and we've noticed good development in the years since.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This photo was taken just before pruning began. It was a cold day, but sunny and not too windy so it was perfect for some high tree work.
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- These lindens have grown beautifully here at the farm. This photo was taken in summer when the trees were all full of leaves. Lindens have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers to develop nicely.
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- Here they are in late summer just before the leaves turn. Linden trees are easy to care for and ideal for urban landscapes because they tolerate a wide range of adverse conditions, including pollution.
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- And in autumn, the leaves take on a beautiful golden hue before eventually dropping.
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- The best time to prune and pollard trees is when the trees are dormant, during the cold winter months. It’s best to complete all pruning before early spring when the buds begin to form. Dormancy pruning reduces the amount of stress placed on the tree. The reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
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- High, overcrowded limbs are removed first. Phurba also cuts any visible Ds of pruning – dead, diseased, damaged, or deranged and crisscrossing branches.
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- Then Phurba starts pollarding, which is essentially forming a “knuckle” or “bole” by removing growth back to the main stem.
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- It is easy to see where any branch was previously cut. Here are a couple of older pruning cuts on a lower branch.
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- Here is a closer look at one upward growing branch that is not pollarded yet. This year, I asked the crew to focus on these upward branches and leave more of the sides, so the trees leaf out wide and full.
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- And here is one tree almost done – notice the tops are starting to develop “nubs” or “knuckles” – these will look even better year after year. More thought and planning goes into pollarding than regular topping, and lopping. Pollarding is similar to coppicing but plants are cut back to a stump, rather than down to the ground.
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- And here is a new cut – always made outside the branch collar at a 45 to 60 degree angle to the branch bark ridge.
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- Everyone on the crew uses sharp bypass pruners. Remember, a sharp tool always cuts clean, and helps the plant to recover better. Dull cutting tools rip and shred the plant tissue.
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- Here’s Phurba also using a telescoping pole saw for cutting hard to reach branches. This tool is lightweight and has a very sharp blade for making smooth cuts. It is ideal for pruning higher branches that are not too thick.
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- Chhiring stays on the ground raking up the fallen branches and watching everyone from below.
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- The branches are gathered and then loaded onto the dump truck and taken to a designated pile for the wood chipper.
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- Pollarding can help make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree.
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- Here’s Pasang working on another tree. It takes several days to get the entire allée completed. Regular and thorough pruning will give the branches more air circulation and room to grow.
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- Here is one side complete. It looks great. Each year the long slender shoots that grow below the cuts will be removed, and a set of new shoots will develop creating a gnarled appearance.
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- All the trees are trimmed to the same height. Some of the other types of trees that can benefit from pollarding include beech trees, black locust trees, catalpa trees, hornbeams, horse chestnuts, London planetrees, mulberry trees, redbuds, and willows. It’s exciting to see these trees grow and evolve over time.
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