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  • From: Hamptongar@aol.com
  • To: gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] Pollarding vs topping
  • Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 12:06:28 EST

"topping" seems to be a practice done by uneducated and untrained 'arborists' to control the height of trees when they get too large.   We saw an example of this last year at a large condo complex where there were magnificent maples in front of the buildings and residents were complaining that their view was being restricted and there was too much shade in the summer.  The complex's managing agents solution was to hire an inexpensive tree company to simply top them.  What a disaster.  The natural shape of these trees has now been destroyed forever.
 
On the other hand we have some 75 year old crabapples along a formal driveway at work.  I think there are thirty in all that are about ten feet tall with a drip line circumference of about 15 feet.  The trunks are about 18 inches in diameter.   For the past 40-50 years these trees have been pollarded early every spring to retain a certain shape and effect...these particular trees are well suited to this type of 'artistic' treatment and there is a long history of trees that are well suited to the art of pollarding.
 
In general I consider topping as horticultural butchery.  Pollarding is a horticultural art with a long demonstrated history.

Andrew Messinger
The Hampton Gardener
The Hampton Gardener is a Registered Trade Mark
(Published every Thursday in the Southampton Press)







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