Trees

Why pollarding?

There are three mature London plane (Platanus x acerifolia) trees at a multi-family site (called strata in British Columbia) I know. One of those trees is fairly close to the building so it’s pollarded annually to keep it from getting too big. When people lose their views, they get upset; when gutters get full of leaves, it costs money to clean them up. It’s much easier to pollard the trees every winter.

Pollarding means removing all of the branches and letting the tree resprout. My 2018 blog post on this topic mentioned my distaste for the look of pollarded trees. I naively thought people pollarded trees because they couldn’t prune them properly. How wrong I was.

Vas was wrong

Then, in 2019, William Bryant Logan released his amazing book “Sprout lands: Tending the endless gift of trees“. It turns out that our civilization was able to thrive thanks to pollarding.

Done correctly, the pollarded wood was used for ships, baskets, wood to heat homes, and food for animals. Pruned trees resprouted new wood and kept on giving, thus the endless gift of trees book subtitle.

I had no idea.

London planes

Now back to our London planes. The three specimens are mature but not as mature as the trees on the boulevard. One, you will recall, is close to the building and the other two are not too far from a pool.

Pollarding involves removing all branches, leaving the funny-looking “knuckles”. It doesn’t look great after it’s done but the tree will never get bigger than this. Assuming you pollard it every year.

The green waste is hauled away but ages ago, it would have been used for firewood or to make baskets.

If your tree is mature, hire an arborist. If it’s smaller, you can easily do it yourself. Just pollard at a height you like. But, always, always, use sharp hand saws and proper safety gear. Tree work can be dangerous.

I must admit that in summer the trees look totally fine. You can’t really see the ugly “knuckles” and we know that the tree will stay roughly this size.

Now I just wish we had some use for the wood we remove.

Lessons from the UK

Tree planting is a science. It’s not just a quick, dig a hole, put plant in, affair. And here’s some proof from the United Kingdom. I got the photo from Dr. Duncan Slater through LinkedIn.

Take a look and see what you think is wrong.

Lessons

There are three main lessons from this tree planting fail and they transfer nicely from the UK to Canada. Let’s take a look.

Lesson 1: stakes

Having one, extremely tight stake doesn’t work. Clearly the top of the tree snapped off in a wind storm because there is no “play” allowed for the tree trunk. You can solve this problem by installing two stakes with arbor tie which allow for movement and subsequent development of reaction wood. It’s like lifting weights: the more you life, the stronger you get. Held super tight, the tree never develops this reaction wood and snaps in a severe storm.

This is what also happens when stakes are left on for more than the recommended fourteen months.

Lesson 2: tree wells and mulch

The absence of tree wells is very noticeable. Young trees benefit from tree wells and mulch. The tree wells channel water into the root zone and protect the tree from lawn care machines. Inevitably, someone will come along to take care of the shaggy grass near the trunk, and the bark will get slashed. Possibly weekly.

We know that turf is a stiff competitor for new trees. They might live but they won’t thrive. Having an established tree well definitely helps.

The mulch keeps moisture in and benefits the tree as it breaks down.

Lesson 3: location, location, location

Location matters in tree planting. The puddles visible in the picture mean that there is poor drainage. Since water displaces oxygen, our new trees can struggle and will most likely suffocate.

Conclusion

Tree planting is a science and it should be done with care. That’s the only way we can ensure that the trees will survive and thrive. They’re expensive to buy, install and replace. We need them to live for a long time and provide us with their many free ecosystem services.

A rare slip

I always try to post normal, family-friendly stuff online. Especially on the Proper Landscaping website. I’m more like a permanent guest blogger here and this is family-friendly place. Unfortunately, last week I slipped. Luckily, it wasn’t a post on this blog, and I had no idea for a while.

While scrolling through my older posts, I noticed one about Ginkgo trees that was flagged and removed by Google. Presumably by a strict algorithm. What? I admit I was a bit surprised.

But first, take a look to see if you find it offensive.

Now, the botanical facts are, to my knowledge, completely accurate. The female Ginkgo fruits produce a strong odour. You can Google the scent description; I have no idea how to describe it. It’s not pleasant but it’s hardly overwhelming.

I’ve used the fruits in several pranks and to date I don’t recall any hospitalizations. Just hate mail through WhatsApp.

The specimen where I collected the fruits and seeds sits on a private property and the landscape architect deserves credit for fearlessness. Google algorithms are much stronger today.

Male Ginkgo trees dominate on city streets for a good reason. Imagine city sidewalks covered in fruits that produce an unpleasant odour. The seeds themselves are big enough to send senior citizens to hospital with bone fractures.

Careful!

You’ve been warned. Watch the way you word your online posts because Google algorithms are merciless. My Ginkgo post got flagged and removed for comparing females unfavourably to males. I am no misogynist; I was comparing male and females trees. And I stand by my removed post. There was nothing malicious about it.

A machine algorithm doesn’t know that. And one day it might take revenge on me when I get into a self-driving car on my way to a tree lecture.

Planting with Vas

My last blog post from March 30 showed my small tree removal and encouraged home owners to give it a shot, if they got a chance. Today’s blog post shows my tree planting using the same hole.

Recall that I removed a dead Amur maple (Acer ginnala) and, while I advised people to cover up the hole to avoid accidents, I did no such thing. I got in my work truck and I drove to Golden Spruce nursery. There, I picked up a Styrax japonicus (Japanese snowbell) specimen. I note the botanical name first on purpose; that’s how you buy trees at a nursery. Common names are useless.

Logistics

Since I worked solo, I had to improvise. I parked my truck over a curb to make off-loading the tree easier. I then gently lowered it onto my wheelbarrow.

Since the backyard was accessed by a slight incline, I had to struggle to get the tree up there. It’s only at times like these that I wish I was more than a chess player with weak arms.

Now I had to make a critical decision.

Yes or no to wire and burlap?

Do you keep the wire cage and burlap or do you remove them before planting? This question used to have a straight answer. My mentor, Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott says remove everything; only the tree goes in the planting hole.

But then I opened up my October, 2022 issue of Arborist News. The article, good for one education credit, says that the answer depends on personal preferences or client wishes.

Now, since I had zero input from the clients, I did what I always do. I removed everything, wire cage and burlap before planting. One argument against this removal is that it disrupts the root ball. So, I dropped it in the hole very gently, keeping the clay root ball intact as much as possible.

The article says there is no conclusive evidence showing harm to the tree by keeping the wire cage and burlap. So, it’s up to you. If you’re planting trees with me, we take everything off. If you’re planting at home, you decide.

Pro tip: make sure the strings are cut no matter what.

Planting hole

The planting hole should be wide and deep enough so the root flare is at grade. The root flare is where the trunk turns into roots and it’s visible once you remove the burlap and peel off the clay.

You can’t plant the root flare too deep or too high. Once you identify the zone, drop the root ball in the hole and put a shovel handle over top: the shovel should be straight across so the root flare and planting hole edges are in line.

My tree was planted slightly higher because I expect some settling to happen with watering.

Backfill

Always backfill your planting hole with the native soil. You can amend it a little bit with better soil but don’t try to substitute it. That’s because water will find it easier to penetrate new fluffy soil and your tree could “joystick” on you.

I used new soil only to top-dress the planted tree.

Watering

New trees need water. Obviously, don’t suffocate them by overwatering. But add some water regularly, even in winter. If everything goes well, the roots will push out into the surrounding soil and the tree will get established in its new environment.

Sometimes I stress about the trees I plant.

Minor adjustments

Winter is a great time to make little adjustments to your landscape trees. Since the foliage is long gone, we can see exactly what’s going on. So, check your landscape trees before spring hits. Like I did this winter.

A weird branch

Once or twice a year I walk past this boulevard tree to buy unhealthy stuff at a nearby 7-11, and I’m surprised this lower branch is still growing. It looks weird and should be removed so the tree crown looks natural. We don’t really want branches growing this low on the trunk. Plus, it makes lawn care awkward.

A new baby tree

I love trees and I love planting them. The more the better. But, this specimen just popped up in a boulevard lawn, like one of those trees you get for free on Earth Day. And I’m worried about it because it doesn’t have a clearly defined tree well.

I would bet my after-tax dollars that it will eventually be involved in a nasty collision with a lawn care machine; and the machine will win. Unless we build a tree well to give the machines space to operate.

We also know that lawn grasses are tough competitors, so this evergreen isn’t likely to take off.

A broken branch

Broken branches must be removed as soon as you notice them because they can allow diseases to enter the tree; and they look awful. I cut out this snake bark maple branch soon after I took the photo. Be like me. Don’t tolerate broken branches.

A dead branch

This close up shows the spot where a dead branch went missing. It’s important to note that a third year apprentice in landscape horticulture made the cut. Sadly, he isn’t continuing with his studies after struggling in level three.

But the cut looks fine. There is no stub poking out, waiting to die off and potentially allow disease into the tree. Also, the cut isn’t too close to the bark branch collar. When this zone is damaged, the tree struggles to close up the wound.

When you remove branches, get it just right.

Conclusion

Winter is very slow compared to spring, so take advantage of it by checking your landscape trees. It’s easy to spot and make adjustments when you can see the crowns; and there is plenty of time.

Take good care of your landscape trees. Ask for help, if you need it.