Dead-wooding & Pollarding
Removing dead branches and managing pollard cycles — done properly.
Dead-wooding
Removing dead, diseased or dying branches from a tree. Reduces the risk of falling limbs, helps the tree heal, and tidies up appearance. Often done as part of a wider crown management visit. On large mature trees, we'd typically dead-wood every 3–5 years.
Pollarding
Cutting back to a managed framework, then maintaining that framework on a regular cycle — usually every 2–5 years. Pollarding works best when it's started young and maintained. Common on willow, lime, plane and poplar in urban and street settings.
A note on bad practice
Real pollarding is a long-term maintenance cycle. Hacking the top off a mature standard tree because it's "got too big" is not pollarding — it's topping, and it damages the tree, sometimes terminally.
If a tree has outgrown its space, we'll talk through crown reduction, sectional removal, or replacement planting. We won't top a tree just because we've been asked to.
Common questions
Can you start pollarding an older tree?
Rarely. Pollarding works on trees that have either been pollarded before, or are young enough to take the response. Older standard trees usually need crown reduction or full removal instead.
How often does a pollard need re-doing?
Depends on species and growth rate. Willow: every 2–3 years. Lime and plane: every 3–5 years. Once the cycle is set, you stay on it.
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