Pruning, Crowning, Pollarding & Coppicing

All material is removed and recycled unless the customer wishes to retain the harvested branches for other purposes. New shoots will emerge from the stump or roots, which can be harvested after a number of years and the cycle begins again.

Pruning

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Effective pruning is a skilled job that can be of great benefit to trees, increasing the yield of fruit trees and lengthening the life of many species.

Formative pruning is important for young trees of certain species to avoid future structural defects or to create a particular cultivated tree form – specialist work that the team at A & M fully understands.

For older trees, A & M can provide retrenchment pruning – a technique which reduces the potential for a fully mature tree to collapse or ‘fall apart’ under its own weight due to excessive end-loading on long or weakly attached limbs. Retrenchment pruning is especially useful for managing formerly pollarded trees and mature trees showing signs of dieback.

Crowning

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A & M offer a range of procedures to change the height, spread and density of a tree’s crown. These works may be required for health and safety reasons or to improve or maintain the look of a tree and its suitability for the location in which it is planted.

Crown thinning

This process involves the removal of crossing, dead, damaged or rubbing branches throughout the tree’s crown while leaving the main branch structure intact, giving an even density of foliage and allowing more light through the tree. Crown thinning also allows more air to circulate through the crown, reducing the tree’s wind resistance which can improve the resilience of a structurally weak tree.

Crown lifting

Crown lifting involves raising the tree canopy to a required height by removing the tree’s lower branches back to the main trunk. This procedure is often required to allow clearance height for vehicles or pedestrians along roads or paths. This is best carried out on young trees as part of their formative pruning.

Crown reduction

When a tree starts to outgrow or dominate its location, we can perform a crown reduction to reduce the overall volume of the tree. This involves pruning the branches to appropriate growth points right across the tree’s canopy, reducing the crown while retaining the characteristic form of the tree. This type of work is often required to keep tree canopies safely below overhead cables.

Pollarding

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Pollarding is a pruning system in which branches are pruned back to the primary limbs or main trunk depending on the species. This promotes a dense head of foliage and branches and maintains trees at a predetermined height.

Once a tree has been pollarded, the process will need to be repeated every three to seven years depending on the type of tree.

Coppicing

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Coppicing is a traditional woodland management method used for trees that make new growth from their roots or stump when cut down. In this procedure we cut down all the tree’s branches close to ground level.