Gardening glossary
Coppicing
Coppicing is one of the oldest sustainable forestry practices in Europe — managed coppice woodland has existed in Britain for at least 4,000 years. The technique exploits a quirk of biology: many broadleaved trees, when cut at the base, do not die. Instead, dormant buds in the root crown burst into growth and the stump produces a cluster of fast-growing new stems.
How the cycle works:
1. **Plant or designate** a broadleaved tree species that coppices well — hazel, sweet chestnut, willow, oak, ash, lime, hornbeam, alder, or hawthorn. 2. **Let it establish** for 5–10 years until the stem is 8–15 cm thick at the base. 3. **In late winter (December–February)**, cut the tree at 15–30 cm above ground level with a clean, slightly angled cut. 4. **Within months**, new shoots emerge from the stump. By the end of the first growing season several straight, vigorous stems are running up from the stool. 5. **Wait for the chosen rotation length** — 7 years for hazel beanpoles, 15–25 years for sweet chestnut fencing material, 20–30 years for oak. 6. **Cut again** and the cycle repeats. Properly-managed coppice stools can be productive for centuries — hazel stools 800+ years old still produce in some English woods.
Practical home-garden uses:
- **Hazel** for beanpoles, pea sticks, hurdles, and wattle fencing. Cut on a 7-year rotation. - **Willow** for living screens, basket-making rods, and biomass. Cut every 1–3 years. - **Eucalyptus, paulownia, alder** as fast-growing biomass for firewood or chip mulch. - **Hornbeam and beech** as a "laid hedge" using coppice principles to encourage dense regrowth.
What can be coppiced and what cannot. Almost all broadleaved deciduous trees coppice. Conifers (pine, spruce, fir, yew) generally do not — they die when cut at the base. The exception is yew, which surprisingly does coppice (very slowly). Sycamore and maple are weak coppicers and best left alone.
For ecological gardeners, coppicing has a separate benefit: a coppice stand has high biodiversity. Cutting opens the canopy, light reaches the woodland floor, and a flush of woodland flowers and butterflies follow. After 7–15 years the canopy closes again, and the cycle repeats. Mixed-age coppice has been described as the most species-rich habitat in British woodland.