Some common and reliable coppicing trees include oak, ash, hazel, sweet chestnut, sycamore, willow, most alder species, and lime. The yew, monkey puzzle, and coast redwood can be coppiced despite being conifers. Beech, birch, wild cherry, Italian alder, and some poplar species are less desirable choices, either sprouting weakly or only sprouting while the stump is fairly small.
Once a tree has been coppiced once, you can continue to coppice it indefinitely. In fact, a regularly coppiced tree tends to live much longer—hundreds or even thousands of years—than its untouched relative. [3] X Research source This is because young growth is resistant to disease and age-related problems. [4] X Research source
Hazel can produce bean sticks and similar products in 7–10 years. Sycamore and sweet chestnut trees can produce fence palings in 15 to 20 years. Oak and ash is often grown for 25–35 years before harvest, for round wood or firewood. In general, the longer and larger you plan to grow your trees, the more widely spaced you can plant them. (The stumps will continue to grow. )
Coppicing too late in spring also increases disturbance to flora and fauna. Shrubby dogwood and willow species will grow brightly coloured winter stems after coppicing. If this is your goal, cut these species back in spring, shortly after the new growth appears. [6] X Trustworthy Source Royal Horticultural Society Leading gardening charity in the U. K. providing resources for identifying, growing and caring for flowers and other plants Go to source
Make sure you know how to safely fell a tree before coppicing mature trees, or before clearing existing trees to make room for a coppice.
You can instead pollard the tree, meaning cut it at a higher point on the trunk. The traditional purpose of pollarding is to keep shoots away from livestock. Today, it is sometimes used as a windbreak or for aesthetic reasons. [8] X Research source Except for the height, pollarding is identical to coppicing.
Angle the cut to receive more sunlight so it dries more quickly after rain. [9] X Research source (This is typically south-facing in the Northern Hemisphere. )
The standards do not need to be the same species as the stools. Oak and ash are common standards, and often harvested for timber (on a much slower cycle than the coppice). Beech is not recommended due to its dense canopy. The alternative “simple coppice” system coppices all the trees in an area at the same time. This is most commonly used for sweet chestnut, a low maintenance tree that can reshoot indefinitely at the same rate. [10] X Research source
If animals become a problem, then you might want to try pollarding instead. [12] X Trustworthy Source Royal Horticultural Society Leading gardening charity in the U. K. providing resources for identifying, growing and caring for flowers and other plants Go to source
Plant new trees as stumps die off. Stump death in most species is unrelated to the number of times the tree has been cut back, so there is no need to replace old stumps. Prune or fell mature “standards” (if using) to reduce canopy cover to 30% at the start of each coppice cycle. Soil fertility will eventually decline, but you can typically grow a coppice without fertilizer for decades.
