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To pollard or not to pollard

 
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Is there any benefit to pollarding nonfruit bearing trees the same height as your fruit bearing trees
 
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Yes!
Well at the same height or lower, certainly.
My pear tree was overshadowed by a box elder and a mulberry that both sprouted years after the pear tree had been planted.
I  coppiced them back to roughly 8 feet,  and just  festooned the pear tree.
The only trees that probably won't cause a problem if they tower over your fruit trees are the ones with compound leaves.
Even among them, I would choose trees that leaf out late and drop leaves early.
Mimosa trees  have these qualities in my experience.
 
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What sort of "non fruit bearing" trees and what uses do you have for the bits you chop off?  Can those bits be chopped and dropped to feed the soil or mulch around the fruit bearing trees? Can those bits be used for basket making or tomato cages? Can they be firewood or biochar inputs?
 
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Brett White wrote:Is there any benefit to pollarding nonfruit bearing trees the same height as your fruit bearing trees



Potentially multiple benefits. Depends on the variety of the trees to some extent. Reading up on subtropical agriculture would provide lots of information about using the pollarded material to feed other plants.
Tree hay was, and still is in some places, a standard livestock feed. If you have livestock to feed, then the next question is which trees make good fodder. Opinions differ and not all animals can eat the same things. Horses are particularly restricted.
The fruit trees will surely benefit from increasing their sun exposure.
Again, depending on the trees you’re pollarding and your personal interests and skills, you might harvest craft materials, construction materials, firewood.
 
Brett White
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Was trying to figure out what trees to put in the ground  so that they definitely compliment each other
 
William Bronson
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A lot of permaculturists plant nitrogen fixing shrubs and tree.
Not everyone agrees on how/when the nitrogen is shared, but most agree that coppicing the nitrogen fixers and mulching the fruit trees with the branches should do the trick.


 
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