In September my 30 Year Old Willow Tree Collapsed and was pollarded back to a stump - 11Months later it has made a remarkable recovery and is now a stump with growth recovering from every possible length of the tree - it looks like a honey monster or my 17 year old son! 1. how do I encourage the tree to recover to one with big branches rather than the 100's of small growths that exist now 2. is there a good time of year to do this 3. is this a specialist job (ie one that involves choosing good growths to keep and special cutting techniques) or can I do this with the right instruction Picture supllied Regards Richard, Polebrook, Northamptonshire, England
Because trees seldom recover to healthy growth Pollarding not recommended. Removal is practiced instead. If you want to try, best to remove growths right at the cuts. They are frequently weakly attached. Then thin the remaining stems to the best four to six limbs evenly spaced around the trunk to achieve a balanced crown.
Chances are it probably collapsed as a result of previous pollarding - willows are frequently pollarded, and often left too long and once done, between repeat pollardings. You could thin out the new growth in the winter, but it may well sort itself out to a fair degree. If you do decide to keep it, the pollarding will need to be repeated regularly (every 10-15 years or so) so the new branches don't get too heavy for their weak attachment to succumb again. Strange-sounding son!!
