“How does this look.”
“Perfect, just carry on.”
“You are not looking.”
“Just chop it off, I am sure it is perfect.”
“How can you know it’s perfect when you are not looking.”
“Because you have been chopping trees for the past five years and no-one ever complained.”
“Perhaps no-one looks at the trees when I have cut them.”
“That is because its is nothing new. They all look the same. Just chop off what you have to chop of and trim it down a bit.”
“Do you think I should shape it up more on the right side.”
“As long as the left side is in proportion.”
“I am not so sure, just take a look.”
“Sorry, I have other things to look at.”
“Such as?”
I have to study the proportions of the trees on the other side of the road to make sure they match the height and width of the trees on this side of the road.”
“But how can you do that if your only look on the other side of the road.”
“It is all a matter of experience.”
“Then take a look at the trees I have cut and tell me that they are OK.”
“If you insist. Oh.”
“What Oh?”
“You should have left those brances at a 180° angle and now they are 90°.”
“I thought you wanted them to be like that.”
“Not really my problem. The trees on the other side of the road point in a different direction.”
“Of course they do, beause they have to be symmetrical to the trees on my side of the road. Where are you going?”
“I am going to get something warm to drink at the restaurant on the corner. It’s all right for you up in a tree with all the action. I am freezing down here, standing around and waiting for you to cut the tree.”
“Perhaps you could come up the ladder and help me.”
“Sorry not possible. I told the boss I suffer from vertigo and cannot climb ladders. I get giddy.”
“And what about my tree.”
“Just chop away, I am sure it will be perfect when you are finished.”
“Oh dear. Now the branch has fallen on his head and he is unconscious. That’s his fault. He should have been watching me instead of looking at the trees on the other side of the road.”
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Goodness! I get flack from my colleagues because I condone pollarding. It is such a no-no among modern arborists. However, I know it can be done ‘properly’, and I would even do it in my home garden if I wanted to. I pollard a blue gum (which I would NOT recommend to others) because I want the aromatic juvenile foliage, and also lack space for a full sized tree. (Although, I would like to get some adult foliage and bloom too.) If I had ‘Crimson King’ Norway maple, I might pollard it for the rich dark foliage! I know those sycamores or plane trees in your picture look goofy, but I think that they look sculptural and properly pollarded.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I saw you had written an article about this sort of tree cutting, I did not know the name for it. It is done quite often here. I am not sure why, perhaps for the decorational effect or perhaps it makes more room. Thanks for the comments, very interesting.
LikeLiked by 2 people
For those trees, it is probably done because their only problem is that they get too big if not pruned severely. Pollarding takes care of that, and keeps the foliage vigorous too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is probably why it is done. In Winter they look quite strange, but in summer not so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is funny that English arborists are not so critical of the technique. In the English style, one or sometimes two short stubs are left on each knuckle to direct the growth into really gnarly elongated knuckles. In the American style, we cut everything off back to the same humongous knuckle. The English style is more sustainable. The knuckles of the American style eventually get too distended and eventually decay from within. Even though it is less sustainable, it still lasts half a century or so, or longer. The funny thing is that, although it is technically ‘bad’ for trees, properly pollarded trees can survive much longer than they would naturally. Beech trees in England have been pollarded for centuries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have not seen it so much in England, but in Switzerland it seems to be common practice. It is all very technical for me.
LikeLike
I saw that strategy for trimming a tree at the Lake of Constance — I’d never seen it before. Thank you for putting a name on it! I guess it makes for more shade in a particular place and diminishes the risk of big branches falling?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes Tony Tomeo has some very useful knowledge about trees and how to look after them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, the main problem is that it sometimes gets done ‘once’ and then not again, as if it will fix something permanently. Once done, it must be repeated annually EVERY winter. Otherwise, limbs peel away from the knuckles as they get heavy. So, yes; it limits weight and wind resistance and keeps limbs from breaking for one year. But, no; it is not good for the tree, and is actually quite bad for it. It is an old technique done for a variety of reasons. For willows, it was done to provide stems for weaving baskets. For mulberry, it provides lush foliage for silkworm. For eucalyptus and other plants grown for cut foliage, it produces an abundance of juvenile growth without any adult growth. (For example, silver dollar gum makes those round leaves instead of lanceolate adult leaves.) For ornamental olives, it prevents messy fruit. Etc.
LikeLiked by 2 people
wow, how much knowledge in this commenting. Over here they do the same thing to those trees. I only wanted to say that your story is so funny! It made me laugh out load.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can always learn from a blog. I am glad you found my blog amusing and now we know how not to cut a tree
LikeLiked by 1 person
🎄☃️❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
They just chop the centers out of all our trees that are anywhere near wires. It makes them both ugly and unhealthy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First of all the trees are planted, they growvwhich is the idea and then they chop them down to size: poor trees
LikeLike