Pollarding of wood-pasture, farm, waterside and woodbank trees should be started when the trees are fairly young, before major branches have grown thick and heavy. It is repeated at five- to twenty-year intervals, in the same way as coppicing, depending on the size of poles required. Such trees can reach immense age and girth, and pollard management should be maintained even when the poles are no longer needed, to keep the crowns from collapsing under their own weight, and to prolong the life of the tree.
Pollarding involves working from a height, and should only be done by trained and competent persons.
- New pollards are best started by the time the stem is 100-150mm (4-6”) in diameter. Pollarding can be successfully initiated with trees up to 300mm (1’) diameter.
- The height at which a new pollard is cut should be determined by the height to which livestock can reach. Allow an extra 300mm (1’) above their reach, as regrowth may not be right from the top of the cut stem. Allow 1.8m (6’) for fallow deer, 2.1m (7’) for cattle, and 2.7-3m (9-10’) for horses.
- A pollarding cycle can be restarted even after an extended interval, although some species, notably beech, respond poorly. Each tree should be assessed by an experienced person before work is undertaken. Specialist advice should be sought on lapsed veteran pollards. See Veteran Trees (Read, H, 2000) for further information.
