A pollarded willow is a willow that is cut at a height of approximately 1.5 - 2 m a few years after being planted. After that, the tree is pollarded every 3-6 years by removing the newly sprouted branches. The thickening at the base of the shoots forms the pollinator to which the pollard willow owes its name. Plantations where the willow is pollarded at a maximum height of 50 cm are called pilot whales.
The production of willow was carried out on a large scale on the pilot whales that were often located outside the dikes on the major rivers. These willows are the thin branches of the cat willow. Nowadays[(since) when?] the demand for them has strongly decreased. In order to preserve the characteristic man-made willows for the landscape, they need to be pollarded regularly, this is often done by volunteers.
In the humus-rich buns of older trees ducks sometimes breed and plants can also grow. Fast-growing plants such as elderberry or rowan can split a pollard willow.
A pollard willow can live to be about fifty years old.
Incidentally, not only willows were used as pollard trees, they also used alder, ash, poplar and pedunculate oak as pollard trees.
Ellen Driesse-Pladdet, born and raised in beautiful Zeeuws-Vlaanderen close to the beach and dunes, grew up in the middle of the nature of Zeeland's countryside. A nature lover who enjoys everything Mother Nature has to offer and treats it with respect.
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