A pollard simply meant someone or something that had been polled (similar to the formation of "drunkard" and "sluggard"); for example, a hornless ox or polled livestock. With canopy reduction, the length of a branch or a number of branches is reduced. If you’d like, you can remove the smaller of the forked branches and keep the larger section. Pollard can also be used as an adjective: "pollard tree".[10]. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Do this if the branch is towards the top middle of the tree and if it looks attractive. The roots and husks have the highest concentration, leaves much less, and the … Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as bowers. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Take walnut cuttings any time of the year, but preferably in early spring or early winter when the parent tree is dormant and sustains little harm. Hello. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Depending on the use of the cut material, the length of time between cutting will vary from one year for tree hay or withies, to five years or more for larger timber. Sometimes, only some of the regrown stems may be cut in a season – this is thought to reduce the chances of death of the tree when recutting long-neglected pollards. If you are not familiar with heavy machinery or landscaping equipment, it may be safer to hire a professional arborist. Prune in late winter before leaves appear. With regular maintenance, you can keep your trees healthy, get rid of competing branches, and maximize their growth potential. For a shade tree, you might start your side branches at 6-8 feet (2 to 2.5 m.) in the air. The technique is used in Africa for moringa trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting. To keep a beloved tree from outgrowing its bounds on a private landscape (which would necessitate its removal). Once a tree or shrub is pollarded, continue the annual cycle of cutting. Ask a spotter to help you cut the branch. Although cuttings of hardwood trees such as black walnuts take longer to root than those of softwoods, the result is worth the wait. "Poll" was originally a name for the top of the head, and "to poll" was a verb meaning "to crop the hair". Lauren has worked for Aurora, Colorado managing the Water-Wise Garden at Aurora Municipal Center for the Water Conservation Department. This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. This usually involves hiring an arborist, so can be expensive. This article has been viewed 19,420 times. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Prune-Walnut-Trees-Step-01.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Walnut-Trees-Step-01.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Prune-Walnut-Trees-Step-01.jpg\/aid10064126-v4-728px-Prune-Walnut-Trees-Step-01.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"