As long as you are not too busy with work or school, pollarding should be done in late winter or early spring. You can reduce the amount of fruit produced by your tree with pollarding, instead of pruning, if you simply want to maintain its shape while reducing the amount of fruit. The use of pruning to reduce the number of cherries on the tree can also be used, but it isn’t as effective as pollarding in reducing their number. There are some cherry cultivars that only produce fruit every other year, while other cultivars produce fewer fruits. As a result, pollarding may not always be necessary to maintain a healthy cherry tree.
If you plan to pollard, remove all smaller branches that are larger than 6 inches in diameter, as well as the blooms on every branch that are larger than 6 inches in diameter. When pollarding, cut back branches to the branch collar. Branches should be shaped in such a way that they produce fewer branches or shade out other plants, fruits or flowers when they are growing.
When cherry trees are pollarded, they typically become smaller and bushier. This can be a benefit to a homeowner who has limited space, but wants to maintain a beautiful tree. In order for you to be able to maintain the tree and harvest the cherries comfortably, you should maintain the tree at a height that is suitable for you to do so. You should also keep in mind that some cherries may fall before they are harvested.
Pollarding is highly dependent on the availability of adequate sunlight in order to be successful.
It is important that you find someone who has experience in this area if you are not sure. Similarly, if you are not experienced, please bear in mind that this is a serious undertaking.
It is recommended that, if you plan on pollarding the tree, you find one that is at least eight years old so that the tree can stabilize and lessen its stress. If you do not have the experience to prune or pollard, then this is the right time for you. You can, however, still prune the tree if you do not intend to pollard it. The branches should be pruned back to a diameter of four inches, or wire cutters can be used to remove small branches. Instead of producing good fruit, remove all fruit with a diameter of two inches.
Some cherry tree cultivars do not respond well to pollarding at all. Some trees will not produce smaller cherries as a result; others may produce bigger cherries, but will not grow into a tree that is smaller and bushier as a result.
With pollarding, the main difference would be that you would be getting rid of more than just the fruit, which would occur in the case of pruning. You would be getting rid of the fruit and also removing unhealthy or dead branches. Pollarding would remove all of the branches and more than just the fruit itself.
Essentially, the difference between pollarding and pruning is that pruning generally refers to getting rid of branches, whereas pollarding refers to reducing the number of branches in order to reduce how much fruit is produced. As well as removing dead or diseased tissue from trees, pruning is also the process of removing dead or diseased tissue, whereas pollarding may not always take this process into account.
This method is good for cherry trees because it keeps their shape, but only takes out some cherries, although it does reduce the amount of fruit on them. It does not work for all cherry trees, however.