![]() The technique is used in Africa for moringa trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting. Examples of trees that do well as pollards include broadleaves such as beeches ( Fagus), oaks ( Quercus), maples ( Acer), black locust or false acacia ( Robinia pseudoacacia), hornbeams ( Carpinus), lindens and limes ( Tilia), planes ( Platanus), horse chestnuts ( Aesculus), mulberries ( Morus), Eastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis), tree of heaven ( Ailanthus altissima), willows ( Salix), and a few conifers, such as yews ( Taxus). Some smaller tree species do not readily form pollards, because cutting the main stem stimulates growth from the base, effectively forming a coppice stool instead. Trees without this growth will die without their leaves and branches. In these species (which include many broadleaved trees but few conifers), removal of the main apical stems releases the growth of many dormant buds under the bark on the lower part of the tree. Oak pollard marking part of the ancient parish boundary of Wash Common, part of Newbury, and Sandleford, UKĪs with coppicing, only species with vigorous epicormic growth may be pollarded. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting. Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollarding tends to 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. ![]() Nowadays, the practice is sometimes used for ornamental trees, such as crape myrtles in southern states of the US. Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as bowers. ![]() Wood pollards were pruned at longer intervals of eight to fifteen years, a pruning cycle tending to produce upright poles favored for fencing and boat construction. Fodder pollards produced "pollard hay" for livestock feed they were pruned at intervals of two to six years so their leafy material would be most abundant. Traditionally, people pollarded trees for one of two reasons: for fodder to feed livestock or for wood. The practice has occurred commonly in Europe since medieval times, and takes place today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a determined height or to place new shoots out of the reach of grazing animals. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BC. Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. A line of willow pollards near Sluis, Zeeland, Netherlands.
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