Tag Archives: Alder

Desuckering Alders and Pollarding Willows

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At this time of year, I have to remove all the suckering growth from the alders and the willows that ring the ponds and line the ditches.  The suckers grow from the base of each of the alders …

… in the Priory gardens but they also grow from the stumps of felled trees.  These stumps are too close to the banks of the ponds to be removed by a stump grinder and even if I used a chemical stump killer (which I wouldn’t) it would be dodgy to use it so close to the water’s edge (there are fish in the ponds).  So the stumps remain and I cut off all their re-growth once or twice a year.  Some have, with this repeated removal, given up the ghost and I suspect the rest will too, in time.  Might be a long time but then I’m a very patient, anxious gardener.

Last year, I decided to leave some sucker growth uncut to see how it would develop.  And some of it I pruned; taking out weak spindly growth and pollarding the bigger, stronger stems.  One of my first posts was about this (see ‘Suckerin’ Succotash’).

This alder was one such that I pollarded last year (took off all the top and side growth leaving the central stems).  And the stems that I left have all matured a little and are a tad thicker than in March 2011.

I decided to do the same this year; a quick going over with the secateurs and just a framework of stems is left.

I rather like these ‘cages’ and so have repeated the process with several other alder and willow stumps on this, the far north-east corner of the east pond.

This is another one that I pollarded last year.

A few minutes work and the stems are cleaned back to the central leaders.  If they end up looking a little too odd, a little too weird I can easily remove them.

This willow has probably been the most succesful.  You can see clearly where I cut it back to last year and where the new growth has sprouted from.

A few minutes work (of faster-than-the-eye-can-follow and all-a-blur secateur work) and it’s reduced to a clutch of pollarded stems.

I will continue to pollard these stems each year and they will, in time, begin to swell and gnarl.  I do like the ‘cages’ these pollarded trees produce.  But what to use them for?  What to put in them?  In last years post, I thought that they might be used to imprison passing villagers.  Not to harm them, you understand  – just to give me someone to chat to.  It also occurred to me that they might be perfect for the fattening of children – for the pot.  Problem is:

a) I doubt this is legal

b) It is certainly immoral

c) There isn’t the demand anymore

d) Fat children are two a penny.

e) I don’t live in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ land.

And then it hit me.  The Priory Ghost!  (See ‘A Christmas Eve Ghost Story‘).  That’ll teach ‘im.  Running about the gardens and scaring people.  Ha!  Get out of that, pal!

Suckerin’ Succotash

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I spent yesterday taking the suckers off of alders and willow.  It’s a job that takes up a great deal of time, but I finally tackled the last of this sucker-fest over in the north-east corner of the garden. It’s an  area of the grounds  that is relatively untouched.  The flower meadow ends here where it runs into a tangle of bramble and nettle, teazle and thistle surrounding an old solitary willow.  There is also a wide shallow extension of the east pond that mallard, moorhen and heron frequent.  This is ringed by alder and more willow and, having been dredged two years ago, it is beginning to be colonised by reed mace (known to me in my childhood as bullrush), marsh marigold and greater spearwort.  The latter was introduced by me and I’ve got my beady eye on it.  It is invasive  and I  don’t want it to take over completely.  I suspect though it’ll do what it wants.
This is  arguably the wildest bit of the garden and whilst I wish it to remain a haven for the creatures and plants that thrive here, I’d also like it to look a little less, well, neglected.
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The shallow pond – you can see suckering alders on the far bank
We’ve had several alders taken down in the past couple of years (and more were felled during the-years-of-neglect) and each year, where the stumps remain,  a forest of suckers emerge.  In addition  the standing alders also sucker.  Bit of a head scratcher as to what to do about them.  They can look attractive:

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Suckers at the base of the alders on the east pond.  Aug 2009

but I worry about them getting too big and so remove them each year.  There’s approximately 15 alders plus a similar number of  stumps.  In addition there are probably a dozen willow stumps.   So, a lot of suckers.

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Before

Quite pleasing to de-sucker an alder;

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.

After.  (I do like a before and after shot.  There’ll be another one along in a moment)

but it’s just another time-consuming job;

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though satisfyingly it produces a huge amount of material for a bonfire.
I didn’t want to remove all the suckers in the garden and generally over in this quiet corner, I’ve let them be.  For some time now I’ve wanted to plant a pleached lime or hornbeam avenue at the Priory – hopefully one day I shall.  I’m fascinated by the gnarled and contorted, swollen stems and branches of regularly  pollarded trees.  In winter, when all is empty and forlorn, there is a nascent energy to them; a pent-up potential which is all too visible.  I love that.  Given that the pleached avenue isn’t imminent and given that I’ve got all this alder and willow, I thought I’d try pollarding some of them.  I’d like to have battalions of clenched fists, raised  in mute fury at a washed out, oblivious sky.  There should be more angry clenched fists in gardens,  I think.  Calming.
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Before

With this in mind, I thought I would take out the majority of the suckers from this old willow stump (above) whilst allowing some of the stronger stems  to grow.  It ended up looking like this:

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After (told you).
If I were to cut some willow-withies (you will never know how much satisfaction being able to use that word has given me), I could make a cage out of this.  Or a Wicker Man.  Stick Edward Woodward in it.  Give me someone to talk at.  I wouldn’t burn him but he wouldn’t be able to hurry away like the people from the village do when I try to talk at them.  Spouting their preposterous excuses.

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I rather liked the effect of the willow cage, so I followed the same process with an alder stump.  I could cage one large or several smaller people in this one.  Though I probably shan’t.  Instead, I’ll now leave these stems  to grow,  removing any new suckers from the base.  Then, next winter I’ll remove all the side branches again and keep it to the same height.  In time the stems should thicken and the heads swell.
Not sure whether it’ll work or just look pants.  If the latter, we’ll say no more about it and I’ll quietly fetch my bow saw.  No need to ever mention again an idle idea that ended up just looking rubbish. We’ll just keep schtum, OK?