Pollarding
Pollarding is a delicate pruning process involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches.
Traditionally, people pollarded trees for one of two reasons: for fodder to feed livestock or for wood. Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as bowers.
Pollarding tends to make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree. Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting.

Tree shearing
The Cotswold Group are using the latest in tree service technology. Our TMK tree shear and Hultdins Grapple Saw can cut and hold tree branches, meaning that the tree is able to be removed mechanically and stacked ready to be processed further by our biomass chipper. With our TMK tree shear we can cut up to 15 inches of wood, so it is perfect for pollarding willows and reducing leylandii trees.
With the issue of Ash Die Back disease-causing brittle, dying trees which can be dangerous to fell with chainsaws, the tree shear and grapple saw is the perfect tool to get the job done.
We provide a full service from start to finish. A chipper can be used to chip the waste product. All the chip is sent away for use as biomass.

Crown Operations

Crown Thin
This reduces the density of the tree’s crown without changing the overall shape and size of the tree. Thinning reduces the amount of foliage and allows more light through the canopy or crown; this also reduces the sail area of the tree.

Dead wooding
Removal of dead limbs and branches from the crown of the tree to ‘clean the crown’. Some deadwood is perfectly healthy, we normally recommend removing major deadwood unless all deadwood is to be removed due to safety concerns.

Crown Lift or Crown Raising
This means removing lower branches to increase the clearance between the ground and the crown. You will need to identify the branches you wish to remove or specify a height above the ground you wish to ‘’lift’ the crown.

Crown Reduction
The tree crown is reduced by shortening branches, and so changes the overall size and shape of the tree. Reductions are usually carried out all round the outer parts of the crown to maintain a balanced shape, but seldom includes cutting through the main stem.

Stump Grinding
When trees are felled or fall, their stumps should be removed to prevent suckering and fungal root rots. Although often large and heavy, it is possible to remove stumps fully using the right equipment.
A stump grinder or stump cutter is a tool that removes tree stumps by means of a rotating cutting disc that chips away the wood. A typical stump grinder incorporates a cutter wheel with fixed carbide teeth. The cutter wheel movements are controlled by hydraulic cylinders to push the cutter head laterally through the stump and to raise and lower it.
Completely dead stumps won’t form suckers, but they can play host to root diseases so it’s better to remove them and avoid any possible risk.
Stump grinders come in a wide variety of size, depending on the size of the stump.