Lollypop Tree.

I like it Hywel. More light underneath for other plants too.

Thank you. Yes there's more light, and I was surprised at the amount of extra room it created too :)

What a good idea.

I really like that Hywel - a good move!

it looks great Hywel. Perfect day for a bit of gardening

Thank you all. Yes the weather's been nice today :)

That looks great, Hywel. I did that to one a few years ago - they can get a bit browned-off, can't they? I lost it eventually, but it was in a pot and would have been better in the ground, I think.

Your little tree will add both height and more interest now. You might have to do a bit of topiary on it!

When we moved into our last property there was a fairly mature Eucalyptus that had always been clipped into a large lollipop. My husband kept it like that for a couple of years but the darned tree grew so quickly it became almost a full time job so we let it grow naturally.

Big mistake. It was only about 15 feet or so from the house and just kept spreading till it had five fairly thick trunks and when the wind blew we worried that any of them would part from the main trunk. Eventually, and to my relief but sadness too it had to come down. A blackbird used to nest in it but it had become too much of a liability.

That looks great and I shall have a go at the ones that I bought from the Nursery at £1 each - it won't matter then if I muck them up!
Topiary sounds good Arbuthnot! I was interested in your comment about the Eucalyptus as OH was trying to interest me in having one last week. Memories of a huge tree waving back and forth in a rented house and several gigantic trees adjoining my Sister's property (now removed) made me adamant that, though pretty, not for me unless it goes up on the field!
Back on 'Goldcrest' it's annoying how loads of Supermarkets and GC's sell tiny 9" Goldcrest in pretty pots with no indication of how big it will get. But I suppose it's a throw away society, keep it a month and chuck it out.

Eucalyptus can be kept small as a shrub, when the leaves remain round. It is very pretty, but must be cut back every year. It is a very tall tree and loses the round leaves and the lovely grey bark as it matures.

Not easy to make it look that good Hywel x

Even "legging up" a multi-stemmed shrub can be very effective. I've done this with a couple of hollies, just self-seeded, and keeping them cut well back means they look rather good. They are just on one stem, but I did it with a large,mature, variegated box and it resulted in quite a handsome specimen! I had seen a garden that Alan Titchmarsh visited on GW, years ago, and the owner was rather obsessed with the idea. Quite good, though!

Hi Hywel
That's given me some ideas too. It looks a nice shape.
Marjorie

You have made a good job of that Hywel, I have browning off at the bottom of some of my mature ones that are down near my bottom pond, I have considered clearing their bases out but think I have left it too late, I did however manage to save one thats up near the fishpond by using the same method and now its my cloud tree....

I'd give it a go, Linclass. It might be fine.

Yes but think of the consequences if I mess them up Melchi....

It's too easy for me to sit on the sidelines and say "go!" But if they are already brown...

I'm afraid I am of Christopher Lloyd's opinion that the best time to prune is when you have the secateurs in your hand, so I trim away all year round! But my results are probably not what every gardener aspires to!

Melchi we call it lifting the canopy, have done it with several mature shrubs Arbutus, Pittosporum, Holly, Osmanthus, Griselinia,Olive, we do it so we can grow more plants underneath them.......you had to love Christopher Lloyds philosophy, a one off!!
I think your lollypop looks good enough to eat Hywel!!

Lincs if they are brown already you'd be tidying them up not messing up -go for it! I keep thinking it would be good to have a go at this but would have to start from scratch as I haven't got anything to do it on. I keep thinking about that lovely holly Hywel has - do you think he would notice if one morning it was missing...

That is a much more elegant term, Dd - thank you!

It looks great,Hywel..and we do it to one of our Alder trees,which would just be far too big in my border..not planted by us,I might add,but it has to stay..It looks nice under planted with ground cover plants.I have also done some 'Emerald and Gold' Euonymus shrubs,which I trim on a regular basis.......Well done for biting the Bullet .it will be well worth it :o) x
.

Melch I got it from a gardening book lol!!

Well done, Hywel ..
Now grow another like an ice cream cone with a '99' chocolate flake ..
just a little topiary ... that's all you'll need... ;o)

I like conifers like this. They can become very 'blocky' without shaping.
Years ago, I had a low growing/spreading conifer and where I kept trimming it to stop it going over the front garden path, it went brownish and became an uninteresting 'block' so I took a chance and cut all the lower branches off. It looked great and much more interesting with the twisted stems on show ( almost looked like a large Japanese Bonsai tree) and I grew a Clematis through it. It was amazing how many neighbours/passers by commented on it.
I think you'll get a good reaction to this too, Hywel as its 'interesting'

Thank you all for your comments about my tree :o)

I might just try that TT lol :D x

Steragram Bella would notice if the Holly went missing - she likes to sleep under it :D

Thank you :)

Just seen this blog, Hywel & it reminds that I did exactly the same as you with the 3 specimens I had growing in big square tubs on the balcony. I did it to make them into "Lollipop" shapes after seeing them in a tiny garden I passed coming home from work. I also thought they would then give me some extra space in the tubs that I could use to underplant. It worked out pretty well for me till they got so big that the wind was always blowing them over!

Fed up with having to pick them up I moved them inside the balcony, up against the windows where they lived for a few more years. I had to get rid of them about 2 or 3 years ago as they got some kind of disease over a two year period which forced me to eventually get rid of them. As photos I had of them are on my old computer's HDD I can no longer access them but I think somewhere in my photos pages there must be some photos of them.