Tree pruning

[LesR]

Am wondering if anyone has the word for the practice of pruning larger trees and joining the branches to form a dense canopy of leaves in summer - I saw that in many towns that the Camino Frances passed through (and no doubt they exist in many others) and I would like to try to replicate it at home...


Pollarding is one term for pruning of trees, but is generally limited to shortening of branches to force a denser canopy, but I am interested in a more complicated technique in which the branches of adjacent trees are grafted together to form a single structure...

Magwood has posted a pic of the tree structures, sans leaves, in Santo Domingo de la Calzada... see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/what-do-they-look-like-fully-clothed.20581/

 

[duncanwhyte]

Usually it's a trellis between trees that the new growth is trained onto. Which is removed a few years later.

 

[MinaKamina]

The only method I know of is using a frame, be it vertical or horizontal.
Horizontally you'd create a tree like a parasol:

 

[naplesdon]

It is a common practice with plane trees (similar to the US sycamore tree) in Europe. I have never seen it with any other kind of tree and I have never seen it with a sycamore either.

 

[Tincatinker]

The process is called Pleaching. Dear old Wiki gives a good description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleaching

 

[Kathar1na]

Am wondering if anyone has the word for the practice of pruning larger trees and joining the branches to form a dense canopy of leaves in summer - I saw that in many towns that the Camino Frances passed through

I have no idea but putting plaza poda arboles plátanos into Google Search looks promising as you are interested in this particular art of pruning and forming trees and their branches to produce a canopy that provides shade during the summer months. Best of luck!

One type of the Platanus tree family is commonly known as Platáno de sombra in Spain - Shade Planetree.

 

[Goyo]

Am wondering if anyone has the word for the practice of pruning larger trees and joining the branches to form a dense canopy of leaves in summer - I saw that in many towns that the Camino Frances passed through (and no doubt they exist in many others) and I would like to try to replicate it at home...


Pollarding is one term for pruning of trees, but is generally limited to shortening of branches to force a denser canopy, but I am interested in a more complicated technique in which the branches of adjacent trees are grafted together to form a single structure...

Magwood has posted a pic of the tree structures, sans leaves, in Santo Domingo de la Calzada... see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/what-do-they-look-like-fully-clothed.20581/

I’ve never seen this done in MX, but the trimming part is podar el árbol.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

The process is called Pleaching. Dear old Wiki gives a good description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleaching

Is it?
The process Wikipedia describes is something that I've helped with on an Organic farm some years ago in the UK. Pleaching is used to create a hedge, not an overhead canopy.

Like the OP I've always believed pollarding involves either shortening the branches or lopping them off all together, not encouraging them to grow together as shown. Perhaps it is simply pollarding, combined with a natural, fortuitous phenomena, as described in the article you've linked.

"Branches in close contact may grow together, due to a natural phenomenon called inosculation, a natural graft."

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Usually it's a trellis between trees that the new growth is trained onto. Which is removed a few years later.

That's the way they did it in a local woodland just after the 2020 lockdown.
They used osier willow wands to form an arched tunnel and trained the trees over the top.
The arch is now so dense you can hardly see through it - regular pruning is necessary to keep it tidy though.

 

[Kathar1na]

One type of the Platanus tree family is commonly known as Platáno de sombra in Spain - Shade Planetree.

Platano de sombra appears to be the type of tree that you need to plant for these purposes.

The botanical name is Platanus × hispanica also known as Platanus × acerifolia.

In German and Dutch it is known as Dachplatane / dakplataan, i.e. roof planetree. In English it is known as London planetree. It is a hybrid. Garden centres offer them for a couple of hundred euros. Pruning it to maintain the roof structure does not seem to be very complicated.

It was apparently first created in Spain or southern France in about 1650 and introduced to Britain in about 1680. So, medieval pilgrims did not rest in its shade.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Platano de sombra appears to be the type of tree that you need to plant for these purposes.

The botanical name is Platanus × hispanica also known as Platanus × acerifolia.

In German and Dutch it is known as Dachplatane / dakplataan, i.e. roof planetree. In English it is known as London planetree. It is a hybrid. Garden centres offer them for a couple of hundred euros. Pruning it to maintain the roof structure does not seem to be very complicated.

It was apparently first created in Spain or southern France in about 1650 and introduced to Britain in about 1680. So, medieval pilgrims did not rest in its shade.

Apparently when first introduced into the streets of London it was thought that the "scabbing" appearance of the trunks was caused by people picking bits of bark off and notices were put up telling people not to damage the trees.

 

[LesR]

The process is called Pleaching. Dear old Wiki gives a good description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleaching

Thnank you - eaxactly what I was looking for...

 

[LesR]

Platano de sombra appears to be the type of tree that you need to plant for these purposes.

The botanical name is Platanus × hispanica also known as Platanus × acerifolia.

In German and Dutch it is known as Dachplatane / dakplataan, i.e. roof planetree. In English it is known as London planetree. It is a hybrid. Garden centres offer them for a couple of hundred euros. Pruning it to maintain the roof structure does not seem to be very complicated.

It was apparently first created in Spain or southern France in about 1650 and introduced to Britain in about 1680. So, medieval pilgrims did not rest in its shade.

This modern-time pilgrim did not rest in its shade either... I passed through in Autumn when the grafts were obvious...

I have a row of five Carolina Red Maple trees (Acer rubrum var. trilobum) and am hoping to join them up to form a continous row of greenery in summer.

 

[LesR]

"Branches in close contact may grow together, due to a natural phenomenon called inosculation, a natural graft."

I plan to ry to replicate this process, with the aid of a sharp knife and tape...

 

[David Tallan]

The process is called Pleaching. Dear old Wiki gives a good description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleaching

I've always thought that the severe pruning of trees (especially plane trees) that OP was asking about is called Pollarding. Dear old Wiki gives a good description of that, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding

 

[Tincatinker]

I've always thought that the severe pruning of trees (especially plane trees) that OP was asking about is called Pollarding. Dear old Wiki gives a good description of that, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding

The subtle difference is that Pollarding produces, mostly, those sad fists of tree - all trunk and no branch. Mostly seen these days in urban streets where everyone complains about the sticky rain of Aphid honeydew ruining the paintwork of their cars. Pleaching produces those astonishing arcades of interwoven trees that can provide shaded avenues for the strolling pedestrian; rich crops of accessible fruit for the dedicated gardener and even a topic for discussion in this forum

 

[LesR]

I've always thought that the severe pruning of trees (especially plane trees) that OP was asking about is called Pollarding. Dear old Wiki gives a good description of that, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding

You may find woodlands in Galicia where the eucalypt trees have been pollarded - cut back to a short stump and allowed to regrow with multiple trunks, presumably to be harvested in time for poles or firewood. Pollarding has been relatively comon in some parts of Australia to maintain vigour in windbreak trees and for harvesting of firewood.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

The subtle difference is that Pollarding produces, mostly, those sad fists of tree - all trunk and no branch

Mostly, yes, but not solely. There are many instances in gardening Forums where they talk about not letting the branches grow more than six feet (2m) in length. You then continuously prune back to the same point which produces the classic boll formations as seen in the excellent photograph from @Magwood, linked in post number one. Hence why I still maintain that this is a classic photo of pollarded trees.

Pleaching, on the other hand, is the interweaving of the branches to create a structure. It's often done to create a hedge on stilts type effect, or to craft tree tunnels, arches, and frames for walks, terraces, and doorways. Or, as you say, fruit production (although some confuse pleaching with espaliering) . The branches are not pruned back in the same way, which means you don't get the bolls produced (other perhaps than at the initial point at which you wish to cut off or stop vertical growth) - which many find unsightly.

However it depends on the effect that @LesR is looking for. If he wants to create a beautiful canopy similar to the photo from @MinaKamina (but with multiple trees linked) then pleaching would be the way to go.

 

[Kathar1na]

I've now learned that there is, in English, pollarding, pleaching and plashing, and also coppicing. While I only knew of pruning aka as let's cut off this branch, too, before I read posts in this thread.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

You may find woodlands in Galicia where the eucalypt trees have been pollarded - cut back to a short stump and allowed to regrow with multiple trunks, presumably to be harvested in time for poles or firewood.

No, that's definitely not pollarding, that's called coppicing!
We do it in New Zealand too. And yes it's exactly what we do it for, firewood. My father and I planted 300 eucalypts on their lifestyle block (small holding), he's 85 years old but still maintains the coppices for firewood.
The reason we planted so many is that of course at first we simply cut the young trees for firewood, thinning them out - eventually after 10 years or so we started coppicing.

Incidentally we also Pollard trees like Poplar and Willow in New Zealand for stock feed - one of the traditional reasons for Pollarding, rather than purely aesthetics

 

[Kathar1na]

we also Pollard trees like Poplar and Willow in New Zealand for stock feed

@Peterexpatkiwi, when you pay attention on your way from Berlin to Santiago and walk in late winter/early spring you will see this in Germany, too. It is even called Kopfweide - head willow, due to the typical formation of a "head". In the Spanish videos about pruning of the shade planetree, I saw the expression cabezas de gato - cat heads - for this.



Willow is used for basket weaving. It is a tradition that is still alive where I come from. One of my uncles made this small basket for me. They come in many forms and sizes.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Peterexpatkiwi, when you pay attention on your way from Berlin to Santiago and walk in late winter/early spring you will see this in Germany, too. It is even called Kopfweide - head willow, due to the typical formation of a "head". In the Spanish videos about pruning of the shade planetree, I saw the expression cabezas de gato - cat heads - for this.

View attachment 175669

Willow is used for basket weaving. It is a tradition that is still alive where I come from. One of my uncles made this small basket for me. They come in many forms and sizes.

View attachment 175671

Thanks, I have indeed seen some, interesting to know the German word for it. Beautiful basket!

Classic pollarding - apparently another traditional use was to help secure thatch in those regions that thatch their roofs. Plus firewood of course.

For stock fodder we don't tend to do classic pollarding (although some may), rather we leave an overhead canopy for shade and just trim selected branches. It encourages the trees to bush out more.
A farm near my father actually does the type of pollarding I described above where he leaves branches that are up to two meters long and then Pollards from there, which creates a brilliant canopy, with loads of growth points. Takes a bit more skill in the initial stages!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

No, that's definitely not pollarding, that's called coppicing!
We do it in New Zealand too. And yes it's exactly what we do it for, firewood. My father and I planted 300 eucalypts on their lifestyle block (small holding), he's 85 years old but still maintains the coppices for firewood.
The reason we planted so many is that of course at first we simply cut the young trees for firewood, thinning them out - eventually after 10 years or so we started coppicing.

Incidentally we also Pollard trees like Poplar and Willow in New Zealand for stock feed - one of the traditional reasons for Pollarding, rather than purely aesthetics

They do a lot of coppicing around Canterbury (ours, not yours) where the chestnut trees were traditionally used for fence posts and hurdles.
The "townies" (DFLs - Down From London) think the woods have been destroyed and get upset about the loss of woodland but the carpet of bluebells the following spring is a sight to behold and ten years later it's time to do it again.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Coppicing is the fountain of perpetual youth for the right species of tree. Apparently trees that would normally die at 50 or so go for hundreds of years....

 

[Bradypus]

They do a lot of coppicing around Canterbury (ours, not yours) where the chestnut trees were traditionally used for fence posts and hurdles.

Hazel was traditionally coppiced too. I walked the Penrhys Pilgrimage way recently and there was a lot of evidence of old coppicing along the way.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Coppicing is the fountain of perpetual youth for the right species of tree. Apparently trees that would normally die at 50 or so go for hundreds of years....

Indeed!

Sycamore Gap tree is found to be sprouting • Northumberland National Park

Delight as Sycamore Gap tree sprouts. 12 new shoots have been counted. The discovery was made by Northumberland National Park Ranger.

www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk