How to hard prune/pollard mesquite?

[davidwyby]

So current plan is remove the rear ones (last pics) and reduce the fronts (first pics). I will have a towable man lift and I think I will get a Telehandler, forklift with stinger, or longer gin poles on my truck to pluck the rear ones out mostly whole, try to keep it quick and easy with equipment. What kind of time do you guys think? I always underestimate, but I don’t want my friends to pay me too much.

 

[SeanKroll]

Think about what your friends would have to pay someone else.

 

[davidwyby]

That’s what I don’t know. I usually go half of whatever bid someone has… really I leave it up to them as gratuity. I hate to have them get a bid just for me to low bid it. I don’t know of any legit tree companies around here, but…

 

[davidwyby]

Talked to my wife and my helper…we’re just gonna knock it out. Grandkids are gonna help with cleanup.

 

[treetx]

Pollarding is where from here on out (after topping), you remove ONLY the annual growth from those heads yearly. That is many little cuts.

These are rare in the USA due to a lack of continuum of care with trees combined with under-educated landscape folks.

 

[davidwyby]

Yes, and must be started when the tree reaches desired size and then maintained yearly I believe. They do it here a lot of fruitless mulberries.

 

[treetx]

In Texas they are super rare. This is mainly because next year's landscape crew will have a genius who figures instead of making 87 cuts with a handsaw, he'll just make 2 with a chainsaw.

Having said that, on a similar note, I have turned some hackberries into lovely hedges. I have never tried with our mesquite as I love the drooping branches plus honey mesquite (P. glandulosa) is a different form than what you posted.

 

[davidwyby]

Man lift wouldn’t work this morning, did it the hard way, pole saw from the truck. Two big branches in the bed first, butt ends out. Pile everything on top, cut small once in the bed to take up less room. Then pulled it out at the shop to dry until NYE bonfire.

The trees look pretty scraggly, but at least I didn’t cut them back to trunks and kill them. Need to go back with the lift and loppers and trim some of the noodles.

A couple off the larger tops I had to throw a rope in and tension to another tree, then “fell”
them from 15’ below.

Not much fun toward the ends looking up into the hot sun.

 

[davidwyby]

Not bad now that they’ve leafed out a bit.

 

[davidwyby]

Now they want them gone…close your eyes @Burnham

 

[davidwyby]

Oh, forgot to update

3 for 3!

 

[davidwyby]

I demo’d one in the back a while back. Forgot pic I guess. I told them some of the leaders on the other didn’t look good. Sure enough…

…ported 75cc a bit much but that’s what I had in the truck,

 

[davidwyby]

I’ll demo the rest when it’s not a hundred and teens outside

 

[davidwyby]

Here was the demo. Dropped all the limbs on the truck from the lift.

 

[davidwyby]

Working on the rest of the last tree now that it’s down into the 90s.

Why cut it down and pick it back up? #truckmullet




Rest of it over the neighbor’s yard tomorrow

 

[lxskllr]

"down into the 90s"... :^(

 

[davidwyby]

"down into the 90s"... :^(

It’s gonna be real nice for a few months while the rest of the country is cold

 

[Burnham]

Sure. You just keep right on telling yourself that, D.

 

[davidwyby]

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Nice prune !

 

[davidwyby]

Volunteers, less than a year old I think. Two, tops. Already growing too fast and breaking.

View attachment 122652

A year later : habitat for invasive doves

 

[davidwyby]

Once it gets a little bigger, habitat for homeless.

 

[gf beranek]

Is mesquite evergreen?

I could goggle that question, but better to ask here, I think.

 

[davidwyby]

Is mesquite evergreen?

I could goggle that question, but better to ask here, I think.

Deciduous

Leaves and beans make a bit of a mess, not terrible.

 

[davidwyby]

View attachment 133262

Look at this thing go!