Pollarding My Linden Trees
In order to keep my working farm and all its 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 allée of 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 the branches back either to the trunk, 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.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- This allée of linden trees is in its third year of pollarding. Pollarding is started when a tree or shrub reaches a certain desired height. The technique helps to shape them so that the trees stay healthy and safe.
-
- These lindens have grown beautifully here at the farm over the years. This photo was taken in fall when the trees were full of leaves and just starting to turn a golden hue before dropping. Lindens have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers.
-
- The bark of the linden tree is gray-brown and on mature trees it is also ridged or plated.
-
- The branches are light brown to gray and the growing twigs are mostly red-tinged. Here, Pasang starts the process of pruning and pollarding this linden. 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. And, the reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
-
- Pasang cuts off suckers and low dead, damaged, diseased, or crisscrossing branches. He uses a good pair of Okatsune bypass pruners. Each crew member always carries a pair of sharp snips. Remember, a sharp tool always cuts clean, and helps the plant to recover better. Dull cutting tools rip and shred the plant tissue.
-
- For those branches that are higher or farther away, Pasang uses our STIHL extended-reach pole pruner. It has a cutting capacity of up to 3/4-inch making it perfect for suckers and new growth. The blades are crafted from hard chrome that resists rust and corrosion – it’s a great tool for this job.
-
- It also features an ergonomic, 250-degree rotating arm for precise cutting.
-
- Here, one can see the unpruned branches on the left and the pruned branches on the right. Notice the tops are starting to develop the “nubs” or “knuckles” – these will look even better in a couple more years. More thought and planning goes into pollarding than regular topping, and lopping. Pollarding is similar to coppicing but when a tree is coppiced, it is regularly cut back to ground level to stimulate the growth of vigorous, new stems.
-
- By the next day, an entire side was complete. This day was much more sunny. This entire process takes a few days to do properly by hand, but it is all worth the efforts to have well-manicured, healthy trees. In pollarding, each year the long slender shoots that grow below the cuts are removed, and a set of new shoots develops creating this gnarled appearance.
-
- Down below, the crew spreads out a large tarp to catch all the fallen branches. This makes cleanup a lot easier and a lot faster.
-
- Once the tarp is full, the branches are loaded onto a truck and taken to a designated pile for the wood chipper. Moises just pulls the tarp onto the back of the truck. Traditionally, the cut branches were either burned as fuel or used for building. Pollarding was a way of using wood over time, rather than cutting it down and having only one-time access to its wood.
-
- My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, manages all the work from below and controls our trusted Hi-Lo – lifting Phurba and Pasang from tree to tree. It’s important to have someone on the ground watching out for the safety of the crew.
-
- When cutting, Phurba is essentially forming a “knuckle” or “bole” by removing growth back to the main stem.
-
- At the base of every branch is a distinct bulge where it connects to the trunk of the tree or an older branch, known as the branch collar. Phurba makes the cut just beyond the branch collar. On longer, heavier branches, it is wise to make a couple separate shallow cuts before the final to prevent any bark tears if the branch falls while being removed.
-
- Here is a closer look at one branch completely pruned for the season. The small branches are cut close to keep their growth compact.
-
- It is good to see the progression from year to year. This photo was taken in April 2021, a couple of months after we first pollarded these trees.
-
- Notice the tips of the branches – the nubs are quite small.
-
- Last year, the nubs are larger and more pronounced.
-
- And this year, the trees are looking even more nubby. And don’t worry, pollarding isn’t harmful to trees at all as long as it is done properly and on a regular basis.
-
- Pollarding can actually 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. By the end of the second day, nearly all the trees are complete. Some of the other types of trees that can benefit from pollarding include beech trees, black locust trees, catalpa trees, hornbeams, horsechestnuts, London planetrees, mulberry trees, redbuds, and willows. There are many ways of pruning and training trees to grow in unusual shapes. I am pleased with how this allée is turning out. Wait until the trees are all full of leaves this spring – they are sure to be beautiful.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
