Steve Kind

Thanks Michael - and apologies for getting your name wrong in my previous reply! - I have added my location as you suggested.

Thanks very much for your helpful reply Mark. That's really good news for me as it means I can coppice the hazel again next winter or the year after - I mainly use the poles for climbing beans and sweet peas so don't need them especially large. Sadly there is no way I could fit another into my garden without a major re-design or an imperialist land-grab on my next door neighbour - I could have this year as I cleared a laurel and an aging crab last winter - but that space is now occupied by a new crab, a red hawthorn and a new perennial bed The one that I have produces enough poles for my needs - they do seem to last quite well as I still have some usable from the first cut in 2007! Thanks again for your advice.

I have a single purple hazel that I use for garden poles. After initially being left undisturbed for 20 years it was cleared in 2007 and again in 2013. Can anyone advise me as to the *minimum* time I should leave it between cutting - and if it is ok to take a few, larger poles on a rolling program rather than clearing completely? Thanks