Saving old trees by pollarding

Saving old trees by pollarding can be done by sawing off the top half of the trunk to lighten the load on the base.

I was sitting on the verandah of our green home around noon on one of those perfect days recently in midsummer, enjoying a cup of tea. The sky was blissfully blue with cumulus popping out calling out to the glider-pilot in me, not a breath of wind, when there was an ominous creaking sound.

Moments later a massive trunk, nearly a metre in diameter thundered to the ground missing the reservoir and concrete fence by inches. Only the plum tree and wire to protect the chickens from our own dogs were damaged.

Planting a tree is a gift to the future. You have no idea who will benefit after you are long gone. Some dear soul set three exotics in our garden over a century ago; they grew into giants.

The beech alas was struck by lightning some thirty years ago, the tulip still towers majestically over our green garden as these giant trees do. And that major trunk of the liquid amber plummeted to earth a month back.

This Liquid Amber is over a hundred years old.

In very wet summers the weight of the sap and leaves is enormous; and could be simply too much for the old stem. Clearly the remaining trunks were also dangerous; that branch could have seriously damaged our home.

The liquid amber is one of the treasures in our garden. Regularly we “forest bathe^[3]” beneath it; and under the American Tulip. We couldn’t bear to lose them. The tree fella assured us that once the weight was taken off the remaining trunks they would be good for another fifteen or more years.

Pollarding is a form of tree management that removes the highest branches^[1]. The upper two-thirds of our liquid amber is now history and we have a massive pile of firewood waiting to be sawn and split. We will have more than enough for Little Beauty for several years; the small stove that warms our home through the winter and the cold wet spring. Hilton has cool, misty spells in every month.

Incidentally when purchasing a wood stove make sure you choose one with a place for a kettle; having a ready supply of hot water is a great comfort in these days of prolonged grid-failure.

Unfortunately a small mongoose has taken up residence in the brushwood. We have seen it a couple times moving at very high speed so I could not be sure whether it had a black-tipped tail or not. No matter, all this undergrowth makes for perfect protection and we think a new home for the little beastie; she has moved in. The chickens have taken a beating.

On the plus side the solar panels are beaming. With the sun dropping in the northern sky every year, below tall trees as we approached the winter solstice, it was not generally a good time for those off the grid; they still had most of their leaves.

The PVs were in shadow until mid morning. Now that impediment has been removed for a few years and certainly we need that extra sunshine; frequent grid-failure is with us for the foreseeable future and many fear for ever.

The tree fella assured us the trees would regrow; and so they have. But the stumps were pretty ugly until spring rains made them presentable again. We bless the person who planted all those wonderful saplings and many shrubs in our garden; a true labour of love.

You can save an old tree. It will cost a pretty penny but don’t try doing it yourself; leaving the ground, chainsaw in hand is only for professionals.

Pollarding has saved our old Liquid Amber tree.

It was heartbreaking to see our favourite old tree reduced to bare trunks but it recovered; it's an ancient friend.

One does need protective clothing and some special tools for harvesting the timber; it's quite dangerous work but you will have firewood for many a year.

• Firewood processing equipment
• Tree planting help
  

Saving old trees by pollarding

Saving old trees by pollarding is costly but so worthwhile.

Having hobbies also certainly contributes to saving the lives of old men too. It does mean lopping off what are top branches for many people; television and social media. The two most dangerous years in a man's life are those in which he was born and retires; dropping dead of boredom is very common.

Blue Zone longevity stresses keeping busy right through to the end. Those are the five places in the world where zestful old age is the norm. We have been greatly influenced by their attitude to life; they grow their own food, bake only sourdough bread and enjoy broad beans^[2].

Broad beans are the only source of dopamine, the feel-good hormone. You have to grow them yourself if you want to be happy; you are unlikely to find them in the shops or in cans.

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