# Severely pruning trees **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503 "2008-05-16T01:05:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/1 "2008-05-16T01:05:02Z")
In two states now, I’ve seen professional tree cutters reduce a mature tree down to nubbins. They’ll hack off all the branches until the tree is just a trunk with a few 6-8 inch long stumps where the main branches used to be. So there it will be, a 12 foot tall truck with sad, leafless nubs. The tree usually recovers eventually, but it looks hideous, both after it recovers and while it’s sitting there stumpy. Why do they do this? Is the goal to stunt the tree? Like to slow down the tree and keep it from bursting pipes with its roots? Or to get branches that are thicker at the base to prevent breakage? Or is it just aesthetic? Or are they just bad tree trimmers? ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/2 "2008-05-16T01:14:06Z")
This is called pollarding. Often done for managing the tree size and removing branches that may fall. We have a fair few eucalyptus trees around our neighbourhood and they regualrly get chopped this way as eucalyptus have an annoying habit of getting large then dropping huge freeking branches on things. You may see this done near roads quite often for the same reason. Often the tree does not look great for a short while, but new growth comes through pretty strongly in the spring. It is also done for astetics to encourage branch growth in a more horizontal fashion, or just to manage the tree shape. I recall hearing it does not work for all tree types, why, I have no clue. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/3 "2008-05-16T02:41:18Z")
Thanks, **NaturalBlondChap!** Without the term, my google-fu was powerless. I can see how all trees might not respond well. In fact, there are three of them down the street from me that seem to have been killed. Very sad. I knew the Dope would come through! ETA: What’s with the multiple use of the word Pollard? I’ve been told it also refers to a female chicken that is developing male characteristics, which apparently is a tangent on the reference to a Pollard being an animal that has lost its horns. Weird ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/4 "2008-05-16T02:53:45Z")
My inlaws have a farm in New Hampshire. When they bought the place, a few fruit trees had gone all to hell from over 100 years of neglect they estimate. They cut them down to very little including the main trunk. After about 10 years, the trees look attractive from large offshoots but they don’t produce fruit. The technique worked to some degree but not perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/5 "2008-05-16T03:49:36Z")
Acceptable procedure for some varieties of tree. You do this with mulberry trees: [http://www.istockphoto.com/file\_thumbview\_approve/3280424/2/istockphoto\_3280424\_pollarded\_white\_mulberry\_tree.jpg](http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3280424/2/istockphoto_3280424_pollarded_white_mulberry_tree.jpg) Somebody a few blocks away from me has a mulberry tree in their front yard that they chopped back to about that point. In a very short time it grew back to a spreading tree. If you don’t do that, mulberries send out shoots all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/6 "2008-05-16T04:27:26Z")
Have you ever been to Hawaii? In the more populated areas, you’ll see work crews removing all but two of three fronds from each palm tree … and gone are the coconuts too. They don’t want law suits falling from the trees. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/7 "2008-05-16T04:28:51Z")
Here in the South, this is done to crepe/crape myrtle trees so often that the butchery has a horticultural name, “Crepe Murder”. Southern Living magazine gardening expert Steve Bender has the best [article](http://www.southernliving.com/southern/gardens/plants/article/0,28012,1585510,00.html) I’ve seen on why you shouldn’t do that, as well as a link there for further info. Just say no. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/8 "2008-05-16T15:20:43Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Have you ever been to Hawaii? In the more populated areas, you’ll see work crews removing all but two of three fronds from each palm tree … and gone are the coconuts too. They don’t want law suits falling from the trees. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I have been. They also do this to cut down on housing for rats and pigeons. Ever notice those metal collars on the trees? Now they come in Aloha print, too. They keep rats from climbing up into the fronds. **Shagansty** Does that mean that owners of production orchards really go out and prune thousands of fruit trees every year? **Elelle** Isn’t the crepe myrtle supposed to be a bush anyhow? And that its tree height is artificially achieved through trimming? That creeps me out. Although at least it looks more natural than the oleander trees that are suddenly popular around here. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/9 "2008-05-16T15:27:24Z")
[QUOTE=Pullet] ETA: What’s with the multiple use of the word Pollard? I’ve been told it also refers to a female chicken that is developing male characteristics, which apparently is a tangent on the reference to a Pollard being an animal that has lost its horns. Weird [/QUOTE] Are you sure someone somewhere isn’t getting mixed up with the term _pullet_ (or possibly even _capon_)? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/10 "2008-05-16T15:34:16Z")
In these parts,you do this with tulip poplars (a/k/a yellow poplars) to make them spread more. If you don’t, they tend to grow straight up with a single trunk, looking like telephone poles, and they don’t provide nearly as much shade. After being topped, the trees tend to branch into two or more upward-growing trunks, with more shade-producing side branches. This type of pruning requires long-term thinking, as the payoff may be a decade or more down the road, and they do look ugly in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/11 "2008-05-16T15:40:19Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Are you sure someone somewhere isn’t getting mixed up with the term _pullet_ (or possibly even _capon_)? [/QUOTE] Pullet = female chicken who has not started laying eggs yet (believe me, I’m sure of that one 😉 ) Capon = castrated male. (what the hell am I telling you this for, **Mangetout**? You know this already :smack: ) I’ve only heard the pollard thing from one poultry professor, though I have no particular reason to doubt her. Will double check with others. > [@\-spoke](#): > > This type of pruning requires long-term thinking, as the payoff may be a decade or more down the road, and they do look ugly in the meantime. Boo. Boo on people and planting the wrong trees. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/12 "2008-05-16T15:42:47Z")
[QUOTE=Pullet] **Shagansty** Does that mean that owners of production orchards really go out and prune thousands of fruit trees every year? [/QUOTE] I am pretty sure they do to some degree but not as much as we are talking about. We have lots of orchards around where I live. They are mostly apple orchards but there are also pears other stuff with many hundreds or thousands of trees. They don’t just let the trees grow wild. They are neatly spaced with room between them, their base is often mulched and the paths between the rows are kept mowed and cleared. I think it is cool that the orchards are available and we can pick fruit in the fall but it seems like a really hard way to make money to me. I know for a fact that Christmas trees are pruned yearly so that they grow into the appropriate shape. That is a lot of work as well. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/13 "2008-05-16T15:48:01Z")
If I was to whack my very old lilac way back, would it come back more vigorous in a couple years? At this point there’s a lot of dead wood in there, and I don’t get all that many blossoms. StG ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/14 "2008-05-16T15:50:27Z")
I’ve noticed that there seems to be some sort of aesthetic in Europe that desires the look. And no you should not do that to your damned crepe myrtle. It’s supposed to be a tall bush/short tree sort of thing with a bunch of smaller trunks - but you shouldn’t let it sucker all to hell either. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/15 "2008-05-16T15:54:52Z")
[QUOTE=Pullet] Boo. Boo on people and planting the wrong trees. [/QUOTE] The “wrong” trees? A mature poplar is a wonderfully gigantic tree ([example](http://hikingthecarolinas.com/Steve1.jpg)), and produces [these beautiful flowers](http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/trees/images/tulip_tree2.jpg). Especially nice if you have a two story home, as the flowers will be most visible from the second floor. I grew up in an antebellum home, and we had one of these behemoths in our front yard. It was well over 100 years old, and a really majestic tree. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/16 "2008-05-16T16:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] If I was to whack my very old lilac way back, would it come back more vigorous in a couple years? At this point there’s a lot of dead wood in there, and I don’t get all that many blossoms. StG [/QUOTE] The accepted guidline is to remove around 1/3rd of a lilac each year. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/17 "2008-05-16T17:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] It’s supposed to be a tall bush/short tree sort of thing with a bunch of smaller trunks - but you shouldn’t let it sucker all to hell either. [/QUOTE] Really? The two in my backyard are esssentially trees- one single trunk about 6-8 inches in diameter and tall enough to stand under. As for mulberry trees… they’re just big woody weeds. They grow like crazy. My parents had one in their frontyard in Houston, and it seemed like we had to seriously chop it back every 12-18 months because it would get big enough to threaten the house if a hurricane hit. Thank God for chainsaws! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/18 "2008-05-16T17:29:55Z")
Sort of on a smaller scale, but a popular technique for creating bonsais with thick trunks is the trunk chop. Here’s a decent sequence of illustrations of this procedure [http://www.rgbonsai.com/amurearly.htm](http://www.rgbonsai.com/amurearly.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/19 "2008-05-16T17:37:27Z")
In [Richmond Park](http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond_park/) close to me they have a number of oaks which were pollarded, originally as a way to harvest timber without cutting down the trees but as a side affect has increased their longevity. Some of these specimens are over 600 years old! Richmond Park is believed to contain more veteran trees than Germany and France combined. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503/20 "2008-05-16T18:09:57Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] The “wrong” trees? A mature poplar is a wonderfully gigantic tree ([example](http://hikingthecarolinas.com/Steve1.jpg)), and produces [these beautiful flowers](http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/trees/images/tulip_tree2.jpg). Especially nice if you have a two story home, as the flowers will be most visible from the second floor. I grew up in an antebellum home, and we had one of these behemoths in our front yard. It was well over 100 years old, and a really majestic tree. [/QUOTE] By wrong, I mean mismatching the intended purpose. Planting [one of these poplars](http://courses.washington.edu/z490/gmo/toby.html) or an [Italian cypress](http://mgonline.com/italiancypress01.jpg) as a shade tree and then pollarding it is wrong. Especially when there [are so many other choices](http://joa.isa-arbor.com/request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=2672&Type=2) [PDF link] And apparently the Tulip Poplar **Spoke-** mentioned is actually [a member of the magnolia family](http://www.shgresources.com/ky/symbols/tree/). It would seem that true poplars can be pruned [up to 25%](http://www.cropinfo.net/AnnualReports/2003/popprune2003.htm) without damage to the tree. 25% pruning is way less than the pollarding I’ve seen around here. Or are you referring to some other kind of poplar? I’m not finding any links that recommend pollarding true poplars. But my google-fu is known to be poor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severely-pruning-trees/449503.md?page=2)