Pancake Trim

[TheTreeSpyder]

There is a local company that gets pretty dramatic effects for local malls etc. trimming like this, or curves; but with 'bush' league type shapes. But what are they doing to the trees?

The trees end up kinda dwarfed over the years, seems to me this oak near my mom's has been like this for 15 years.

 

[Stumper]

While I dislike meaningless topiary in general and shearing of broadleaf trees in particular ( I think that "natural" forms (tweaked a bit perhaps by talented pruning )are much more asthetically pleasing), I do not think that regular shearing is too hard on the tree. Yes, it is wounding, yes it does"stunt" the tree (they don't have to get big they are unnaturally thick ), but the tree lasts longer than if it were removed for "being too big".

Have I earned a run-on sentence award for that first sentence?

 

[Treeman14]

Is that a "boxwood?"

 

[ramanujan]

as long as they are regularily trimmed i like how they look (not to say i would suggest it) but they become a real eyesore in the winter, if that is a deciduous oak.

 

[Mattman]

That's a very good example of why I don't bid on City work around here.
Matt

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

So if you had a company and a client wanted you to comeo out twice a year to maintain a topiary, you would refuce?

I would much rather pick prune them, but thatt is life.

There are parts of MKE where people love the "umbrella" look in crabapples. I've tried to talk people out of it and do some restoration work, but if you can do 150 -200 every year just cutting sprouts off, why the heck not.

 

[Mattman]

That picture posted looked like a tree belonging to the city (in the nature strip between sidewalk and road). This kind of pruning is usually done by under skilled poorly educated types. Meaning "low bidders". I've got better customers to woo.
I have kept up with this type of pruning before, but on a very low profile back yard kind of job. I don't want people to see my truck in front of that tree. Bad for business.
Matt

 

[monkeypuzzle]

I,ve seen a few in this area, Live oaks that were planted under power lines.

Is it better to hockey puck it or cut the pucker down when it is under power lines?

 

[Matt Follett]

I beg to differ

While I don't tend to find myself pollarding, pleaching or hedging on a regular basis, I would imagine that many a skilled, and educated gardner would take offense to certain comments in this thread, the process of hedging and maintaining broadleaf trees is an art. We as arborists, working to maitain the optimal health of trees may frown upon the action, but condsider if you will some of the alternatives, (a million dwarf crabs...) Learn to enjoy, or at least appreciate the architectural content, etc. Anyone who has spent time touring the gardens of Europe will agree I'm sure.

Ponder for a moment as well when you critique that only a few years ago we(the proverbial arborist, somewhat educated, somewhat not) were over thining trees half to death. (now we know that thinning does not encourage plant development, it in fact slows it) and before that we filled things with concrete, and bound them up with chains. I find we fa to often jump to conclusions and point fingers at 'mistakes' in the landscape, or pass things of as 'the low bidder's job'

As a graduate of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture, I spent many hours maintaining an 65 yr old Beech ( Fagus sylvatica) hedge, this hedge surrounded several gardens. While it was sheared twice a year, every 2 years it was hand puned with secatures to remove stubs and large wood, essentially pollarding it on a 2 year cycle.

I can't say for sure that this is what is happening here, but I just wanted to play devils advocate and perhaps open up some thoughts regarding this issue. No this is not GOOD arboriculture, but mankind has been pruning and manipulating plants for centuries as art, and in this case the manipulation will not cause a hazzard (such as topping)

To me this is like ones distaste for a particular form of architecture, Just because you don't like Frank Loyld Wright, doesn't mean you can't appreciate Falling Water

My two cents

 

[Nickrosis]

Stimulating. Mentally. Having spent days touring gardens in Europe, I was both amazed and disgusted with the pruning practices there. Since nearly all the tree work is done by horticulturalists, you see pruning carried out on trees that is best left for herbaceous plants. Some of the most whacked-at trees were horsechestnuts which ended up getting topped instead of pollarded.

At the same token, you can look at an urban tree's purpose. Does it have a spirit that you have to respect? I think not. It's a plant. But it does have a natural form that God imprinted genetically and should usually be followed for the sake of the tree's own health. If you want to make a hawthorn into a hedge, go right ahead - it would leave a doozy of a mark on a burglar. But that's looking at a tree from a utilitarian standpoint, which is ok. Pollarding was orginally developed for a utilitarian purpose - a regular supply of small firewood each year. Topiary is well suited for the urban environment because of small spaces. Bonsai was a great discovery for even smaller spaces.

What is a tree? What is it for? What is it worth? Our answers flow into our actions and our definitions of both correct pruning and beauty.

Nickrosis

 

[ramanujan]

a far as the health question goes, it's interesting to note that some of the oldest trees around are the the result of continual 'hacking.'

There is a linden tree in Germany that has been coppiced for who knows how long, but has been radiocarbon dated to approximately 6000 years old.

And oaks in england around 1000 years old that have endured a form of pollarding. not to mention a ficus of some sort in an Indonesian temple that has been pruned since the time of Christ. maybe we should consult them for secrets to a plants longevity.

yew trees in the courtyards of scottish churches that have been subject to compacted soil and root interference of all sorts that have been old for thousands of years.

 

[TREETX]

I like hedge and pollarding. The thing I think should be focused on is a future management plan. i.e. - not letting hedges go untrimmed for 10 years and then wacking them back - wounding deed into heartwood. Same thing for pollards - I love them big and small. They are expensive to maintain though. The annual growth has to be removed. Inevitably some genius thinks it is easier to make one cut with a chainsaw than all of those little cuts. The end result is the wound back into the heartwood.

Treat trees like trees, hedges like hedges, and pollards like pollards.