Butchered or done for the longer term benefit?

I think local authorities just dont want trees any bigger than medium sized any more.

One, they might just get blown down and cause a compo claim and, two, best not to let them get to a size where they just might get a preservation order and stand in the way of future development.

They replant trees around here but they are mostly insignificant little trees that will not get big, even when replacing flowering cherries they tend to use the smaller ones with wishy washy flowers, upright growth habit and pretty unimpressive.

 

That happened a number of years back in a small park/green in Edinburgh, much to my intense frustration. The fence was lined with beautiful old flowering cherries, and they ripped them ALL up without a trace! I can't find any "before" shots, but this is what the park looks like now.

 

they really should employ landscapers that know what they are doing, at the planning stage as well as when it comes to chopping the tree. The chopping cannot be undone. PS I suppose it is less of a damage when it is only a small tree, but still....

 

Oh, I think they know what they are doing alright, they just dont want large trees anymore, and only ones with upright branches.
Another thing they dont want, which I guess is fairly understandable, is surface roots damaging pavements, so out goes the large spreading trees and replant with miserable, dull looking cultivars that have no other use than by local councils.
No one in their right mind would plant such stuff in a garden.

 

Edinburgh city council tree management department is verging on the pyschotic now. They just chopped down dozens of perfectly healthy fully matured large trees in Murrayfield Park for no reason. Theyve gone mad but at the same time if you were to damage a tree theyve deemed as protected then its the full weight of the court against you.

 

I don't know anything about the politics of tree management in Edinburgh but I am pretty sure a mature weeping willow will not be harmed much by pruning, even severe pruning. Perhaps you could inquire what their long term plans are.

 

Our neighbours pruned their huge weeping willow a couple of years ago so it was left as a trunk. But they knew what they were doing: it's back thicker than ever now. Severe pruning just saves money doing it every year. You should see it growing again by now.

 

This method of pruning is called Pollarding, and has been done for the long term benefit of trees, especially willows, all over Europe for hundreds of years. Nowadays, its often done to keep trees manageable.

Its very common to see here, as willows are a part of the culture of this area. Theres a churchyard a few miles from me that has this done regularly. The trees surround it and look stunning when they start to grow again.

So dont worry, done right, its for the best!

 

Pollarding used to be carried out to protect young growth from cattle and deer. Cutting the tree at about head/shoulder height resulted in the production of long straight growth that could then be harvested on a rotational basis, similar to coppicing.
You can still see pollarded oaks in Hatfield Forest and I believe the New Forest among other old deer parks.

 

When pollarding is done to a willow, at least the way it is done here, it tends to produce a spherical growth pattern on the top of the tree. Sometimes, these are illuminated at night making them look like a row of moons...I could well imagine that other trees would look the same, but dont know for sure.

 

Our neighbours cut theirs underneath at head height and put chairs and a table under it. Makes an excellent parasol.