Willow - Pros and Cons

I'd like some advice about the pros and cons of planting willow please.

There are some big houses looming over my wire fence and the winds we get can be terrific. At the same time, I've got loads of crack willow cuttings that are rooting in water jars like billy-o. I've already got one young willow planted that's doing well and I've just put out a short row of six or so rooted crack willow cuttings in the damper part of the far garden at one foot spacing, to eventually screen the neighbour. I was thinking of planting loads of them as screens around the edge of the garden.


Am I going to have problems later if I do that? Am I nuts for planting them so close together? Will they prevent other plants from growing?

Cheers

 

I think you definitely need a screen around the garden, if it is windy, otherwise everything within the garden is going to look "tired" by July.

However, what would be the best choice of screening plant is a difficult question.

You could do hedges (usually a compromise between speed and attractiveness), or Bamboo, or Pleached trees (Limes would probably be easiest / most cost effective), or straight trees - but you'd need something relatively "thin" so things like Monterey pine I assume are "out". Eucalyptus perhaps? Although not that thin they have a reasonably "open" canopy so create some nice dappled shade to grow things in.

Willow are relatively quick though, and will help [but only once they get big] with any damp that you have.

 

Hi Cacadores, with respect, I bring to your attention these two sentences.

1. It's called crack willow for a reason. Its scientific name is Salix fragilis. It's not a tree you often associate with windy areas.

2. Clearing up the discarded leaves and catkins will be a right pain in the bum, as shiney has already mentioned.

3. If not kept in check it is a tree that can become quite large quite quickly, as well as propagate profusely. If you're not careful you'll end up with a small woodland of messy, smashed up crack willow.

In my opinion you'd do well to choose a more suitable alternative.

Cheers,
Matthew

 

Have a look at this:
http://www.willowkits.co.uk/html/willow__fedges_.html

The willow used in these projects has been bred for its rapid growth of straight, very flexible shoots, ideal for weaving into living structures. In my back garden I've made a play den out of it for my son. My dad's been growing it for a few years now as he's interested in the idea but hasn't got round to doing anything with it other than making 'fedges' around his garden at home and his allotment for screening. So far its caused no problems, and unlike crack willow, it takes a lot to snap it (you can literally tie the younger shoots into a knot and still it wont snap), so it stands up well to strong winds without turning your neighbour's garden into a woodland.

 

Thanks. There's an horrendous house with a monster roof over the fence at the end of our garden and it's virtually all I can see. So big is good. The bits would fall on lawn so the mower will get them. But I'll certainly think a bit more about where and how many willow so I can cope with the fallout.

Thanks for these ideas. I intend to get my plastic bag and knife out to go lime hunting! As for the damp - yes, as long as the willows don't steal all the water!

Thanks. I take your point about the wind and what you say about smashed woodland conjures up a sorry picture. My plan is to make a path around the garden with trees and shrubs on either side, to create a kind of avenue. The idea is that viewed from the house, shrubs on the near side of the path will screen the neighbour's lower story and trees on the far side will screen his roof. Hopefully if the willow is on the far side then a lot of the fallen clutter will be contained within the path area. However, I think I'll wait for a windy day and pay another visit to the tree I got the cuttings from to have a gander at how much clutter it makes.

Thanks for the ideas - it sounds and looks like fun. In view of the comments I'll probably be a little more selective in how much and where and if to plant willow, especially crack. A different type of willow might be in order.

 

Oooh-er! That's a good point, with children about. Perhaps I need to look at getting a different type of willow as a screen then, but that doesn't leave me much time to plant it from cuttings this year. The Crack Willow I've already got rooting - well, perhaps I can give them a go as decoration elsewhere and just prune them low.

 

If you plant the hybrid stuff I suggested, it will get away as quickly (at least) as any crack willow cuttings you have already started. And it wont snap when the wind blows it.

 

Thanks for the suggestion and I'll investigate it.