Many in the southern United States have heard the term Crape Murder for an unfortunate pruning practice which has disfigured so many specimens of this iconic southern tree. This radical topping generally does not harm the tree and because they bloom on new wood it may even increase the intensity of bloom. The problem (in my estimation) is the ruiness effect this sort of radical pruning has on the form of the tree. However, the age-old adage concerning “beauty and the eye of the beholder" must be considered and I, for one, will not presume to judge another's personal aesthetic.
Pollarding is a similar pruning method that I have practiced for over 40 years but although it, too, involves a radical topping it brings a form and function to the method that can lend both interest and use to the specimen. In its historical practice, it was used to provide handles, wicker and kindling and was almost certainly an adaptation of the even older practice of coppicing in which entire trees were annually cut to the ground to provide the slender sticks used in everything from baskets to wattle and daub. Coppicing was generally practiced in medieval Europe on willow, alders, oaks and other weedy type trees that will readily sprout from the base after the years's growth is cut off.
As the land came under a more intensive use, pollarding proved to be a convenient method of raising these sprouts up, out of the reach of cattle, so that the land could be used more effectively. By the 18th century, pollarded trees were more generally used as an ornamental feature and was practiced on medium to large trees (the littleleaf linden or “lime tree” seems to have been a favorite target) on estates or in municipalities where the owners or politicians had the wherewithal to afford such an extravagant practice. At Colonial Williamsburg, sycamores are used as pollarded specimens and while this treatment is ornamental, we never
miss the opportunity to gather the many slender sticks for use in the garden for everything from pea trellises to tomato tables It also solves a maintenance issue for the control of Sycamore anthracnose, a fungus that results in near total leaf loss in mid spring. Because the anthracnose fungus over winters on year old wood these trees never experience this unsightly blight as all of the year old wood is cut off in the pruning process making it a bizarre but effective method of control. Over the summer months the tree forms a dense, pyramidical canopy.
While plants the size of sycamores require specialized tools and climbing skills, smaller trees are easily managed from the ground or on step ladders. In addition to providing sticks it can also result in abundant bloom. To be both beautiful and useful one must choose a species that flowers on new year’s wood. This means, in Virginia, any plant that blooms after the middle of June. The aforementioned crape myrtle can be pruned into very attractive pollarded trees (I have seen some beautiful specimens at the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island in North Carolina) but the reulting sticks are too twiggy to be of general use.
My favorite small tree for this treatment is the Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus). Like the Crape Myrtle it blooms on new year's wood but unlike the Crape Myrtle, it provides many long slender sticks which are extremely useful in the garden architecture. I was lucky enough to inherit a young Chaste tree at our new home on the Northern Neck of Virginia and have been training it for three years now. To
start a pollard, you must choose a young tree that has already reached the appropriate size for your situation. I prefer to make the initial cuts low enough on the stem so that I can do all future pruning standing on the ground. I start by making cuts in a hemispherical manner to establish the overall shape and size the specimen that will be maintained throughout the life of the tree.
Every year, cut the new year's growth back to the same spot, making the cuts as close to the developing callus role as possible. I find that secateurs with ratcheting jaws wonderfully expedite the process. Most of what you cut off will be dense, fragrant, branches of Monk’s Pepper. But you will also find long slender branches that you can use for a myriad of purposes in the garden.
I am using about ½ of this year's stems as an enclosure to hold up the asparagus.
This annual pruning will result in large knuckles of callus tissue from which, each new year's growth will originate. As time goes by, these knuckles can become quite
large and can be maintained for many years. I am of the opinion that a pollarded Vitex will outlive a tree allowed to grow freely. As an example, the Chaste Trees in the Colonial Garden at Colonial Williamsburg have been pollarded for at lest 35 years. Most writers give the useful life span for the Chaste Tree of 20 - 25 years.
The delightfully fragrant flowers and foliage were once used as a garland in maidens' beds to preserve chastity: hence
the name. The name Monk’s Pepper comes from the German ‘Monchspfeffer’ and implies the use of the peppery seed heads to suppress carnal desire and the strewing of ‘Agnus castus’ flowers on the paths leading to the cloisters for novice
monks is practiced to this day in Italy. The species name agnus-castus derives from both the Greek and Latin terms for chastity. The genus name, Vitex, was the name used by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in the first century CE and is derives from the Latin vieo, meaning to weave or to tie up, a reference to the use of of the tough and flexible stems which can be used for wattling or in basketry. This lovely little tree is a native of south central Europe and the Mediterranean region of western Asia and, in this country, can be grown in USDA zones 6 - 9. In the colder areas of zone 6 and well into zone 5, it can often be maintained as a coppice, meaning that the stems are cut to the ground every fall and well mulched to keep the crown from freezing. Every year you will be rewarded with a dense bloom of lavender-like flowers that will positively hum with pollinators.
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