To severely prune a tree by cutting its upper branches back to the main trunk. This encourages a dense head of foliage and new shoots. Historically used to harvest wood for fuel or fodder without killing the tree, it is often used in urban landscaping to control tree size.
Heard on the job
We need to pollard those willows along the ditch before they get too top-heavy.
Insider tip
Don't confuse pollarding with topping. Pollarding is a planned, regular practice started on young trees, while topping is a damaging hack job on mature trees.