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Note that it's a willow tree, so the vandal and workers may have "just" unintentionally coppiced it. Far from killing the tree, some of the oldest trees in the
by schiffern 9y ago
Note that it's a willow tree, so the vandal and workers may have "just" unintentionally coppiced it. Far from killing the tree, some of the oldest trees in the world are coppiced. Coppicing is supposed to happen in winter, but it's possible this tree could survive.
Looking at the "before" picture, the tree might itself be a spray formed when an older tree was cut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing
- peterwwillis 9y ago"Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse," I finally find out why the "copse of trees" at Gettysburg is called that. Thank you.
- lobster_johnson 9y ago"Copse" comes from "coppice", but today means any small group of trees (not necessarily any that have been coppiced).
- ckinnan 9y agoYeah, the partially severed limb needed to be fully cut off for the best interest of the tree. I'm guessing the work crew saw some rot or disease or other damage, and went ahead and coppiced the whole tree.
- tptacek 9y agoThe vandals don't care whether the tree lives or dies; they care that nobody enjoys the tree while they have to be aware of it.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- dmix 9y agoI believe the OP was referencing the city workers who coppiced the tree, not the vandals who forced them to do so...
- KGIII 9y agoI am not sure that it is unintentional. The observers may just have not asked what was going on. The reason I'm unsure of intent is the height of the stumps. That's rather abnormal as trees are usually cut much closer to the ground. Also, the tree could probably have been saved. It didn't look like a cut that would have destroyed the entire tree. A good arborist could have removed that without overly damaging the rest of the tree. The stumps are all left at unusual angles. Those aren't the result of typical notching and felling techniques. Those were cut intentionally. My guess is they were notched above that and then cut down to that height. It may be intentional coppicing?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- 13of40 9y agoCan confirm. A couple of years ago the ornamental plum in my front yard died and I cut it off near the base. Almost immediately about a hundred new trunks sprouted from the stump and roots, and it was what I considered a handsome shrubbery for a year or so before my wife made me coppice the whole thing out of the ground with axe and pickup truck.
- foxhop 9y agoMore likely the scion died and the root stock took over. It wouldn't have grown the same plum or flower. You didn't coppice it when you removed it. Coppice is when a tree is "topped" like a haircut and then it grows back. Not all trees are suitable for coppicing, but the ones that do grow back vigorously and are great for firewood / lumber.
- 13of40 9y agoI was using the word "coppice" in jest, by juxtaposing the image of complete removal-by-force with the real meaning.
- jhoechtl 9y agoYou can safely coppice a willow tree any time of year and it will vigorously re-sprout. This tree will certainly come back to life.