Coppicing large willow advice please!

We have a native willow, I think it's a grey willow, that is getting too big for its boots. It's about 10ft tall and the trunk is about 4" across. Is it too big to coppice? Can I just hack it down to say 6" above the ground? I presume I need to cut it at an angle to help the water run off. Do I need to cut anywhere in particular?
Thank you!

 

Willow is supposed to be at least three years old before you coppice it. If yours is 4 inches thick then I think its a safe bet that it is mature enough. Sorry, can't advise about where to cut though, although I hope someone can because I'd be interested to know this too.

 

Why not polard it?

It will coppice fine although you want to do it very soon as its getting late in the season, a slight angle on your cut.

 

We got one that I planted in a damp corner of the garden. It's now about 8" across the trunk and it's pollarded at a height of about 7 feet. I cut most of the new growth which can be quite substantial, every winter.

 

I love willow, its almost indistructable.
If you put a small branch into the ground it will take root and grow.
I have a killmarnoch willow 5ft tall m planted 1 year ago, it has put amazing growth on.

 

Hi Sezzle,

You could coppice the tree, but I wouldn't recommend 'hacking' it as you say - That will just cause all sorts of problem. A nice clean cut will suffice. Also, if you do chose to go down this road be prepared for multi-stem regrowth and constant coppicing thereafter. Can I ask what makes it 'too big for it's boots'? Can you not carry out other pruning techniques to make it more manageable?

Cheers,
Matthew