Then there's when the comfort level of your neighbors encroaches on your trees. Some people even trespass to destroy trees. Here it is often to gain water views.
Well, if tree owners were considerate in the first place, maybe things like that would be less likely to happen. I don't happen to find views more beguiling than trees, and I think it is a much greyer area because a loss of view is not quite the same as an encroachment, but being considerate of people's views should not be an impossible task.
So are you off the couch yet?? It won't sprout with this degree of vigour every year now, as this is just its first response to the pruning. But it should look very cute for a few years, and you can now watch the sprouts to shape the tree as it grows.
Well done. Its sometimes difficult to persuade people heavy pruning is good and healthey esoecially when there is sometimes a school of thought that to use any sharp toolon any tree is bad vibes man or if people are unaware of how trees grow. I had a similar scenario in mylast house, a willow had been repeatedly fiddled with for 10 years or more, not decisive, top pruning but not really cutting it back so there was a huge dense ball of knotted up branche's. I thought scrap it, cant be pestered.So I cut everything down to a stool, (only about 5 inch diam) and about 5 inch out the ground. I intended to grub it up and say good bye, but forgot about it due to otherr prioroties. Next spring it recovered and how. The following spring (15 months after surgery) the new stems were 20 foot tall and an inch+ thick, vigorous healthy yellow/gren colour, waving nicely in the breeze. Willows like to move not be balled up in a knot.
I had an arborist in to discuss my willows' next pruning and he made a comment pertinent to this thread... that the new growth after a pruning sprouts from the bark, and is not so firmly connected to the core of the tree as are original branches. Might be something to be aware of in the longer term management of willows that have been aggressively pruned.
Any recent photo's? I found this post while searching, after the fact, on how to prune willows. My wife and my neighbour have been giving me the gears about having gone too far! I have shown "the ministry" your photos and she is encouraged. I am however rather curious how your tree looks now into it's third season post prune. Photos of my own shortly.
I hang my head in shame... I had wonderful results pollarding my willow. Two years of beautiful yellow branches and lush foliage. Sorry I failed to follow up with pics. Now it needs to be pruned again, and I wasn't sure just how short to cut off the branches that grew from where I pollarded. (I removed several unwanted main stems and consolidated into two main trunks. They are now heavily loaded,) Does one follow the usual procedure in leaving a short collar at the base of each branch removed? I will end up with a lot of collars! I have seen some willows that have big fist like areas where they prune each year. Is that what will ultimately happen? I want to keep the new growth up where it was pollarded. I WILL add a pic tomorrow! Too grey out there right now.
Hi Dave I have just gone throught the similar beating you must have recieved a few years ago. I should have checked out the web first but there you go. My tree now looks just like yours did then and my wife is really upset so can you please send me a picture of what the tree looks like now. The resemblance is uncanny right down to the swing !! Please say it has grown back and looks like a willow again - PLEASE !!
