Willow tree cuttings

Hi all.
I noticed some branches had fallen from the willow tree overhanging the end of my back garden and during a moment of boredom today, and remembering reading that they're exceptionally easy to root, I picked up the fallen branches and stuck them in deep pots of compost.
Now, considering I picked up branches that had fallen, and considering I didn't exactly follow the rules like cutting in a particular place or paying attention to the age of the wood, is there any chance that they will root and grow?
I'd quite like a willow tree in the garden as the birds seem to love my neighbour's when they get disturbed so should I take more cuttings, obeying the rules this time, to increase the chance that at least one will grow that can be planted outdoors?

Lastly, I recall reading that they're so easy to root that they can be 'stuck straight into the soil' and will grow. Is this true? If so would that be easier?

Many thanks as always,
HBK.

 

Hi HBK,

I've known willow to come back from a dry twig. I used to make willow hurdles, you could strike some from bundles bought from the suppliers that had been cut for weeks & it would still grow.

 

I reckon there's about 90% chance they'll root. Willow is fantastic stuff and has even got the attention of the scientists, who are now studying the long claimed property that willow not only roots easily itself, but can promote rooting in other cuttings.

In fact, if you look up 'living willow' structures, you'll find that many people simply shove the cuttings into the ground and make structures from them, with the knowledge that almost all the cuttings will take, and then the whole structure just leafs up in spring and grows.

 

Yep, I've grown new plants by just pushing prunings in the ground where you want them to grow.

Its easy, not sure you need to go down the potted route really.:WINK1:

 

Thats given me an idea.

Been farting around trying to grow privet hedges in a soil thats part clay,part dark matter.

I'd be better off striking a load of willow, at least i'd get a hedge this year.

 

I'd copse them & sell em for bio fuel

 

Hi HBK,

Last autumn I tried rooting some willow cuttings in old bottles full of water, with a 100% success rate. After about 10 days, just shoved em into compost. By this time they had already grown 1-2 inch roots and all of them took after translanting.

 

My dad did exactly that, and it's worked out perfect. There is a hybrid one speciallu bred to grow tall fast. It gains about 4ft per year up here in the northeast. You start off with a few lengths, and shove them in the ground at an angle, the the next one crossing it if you know what I mean. Then they just grow and knit together. You can plant them quite sparsely to save cost, because you'll have enough to cut and replant by the end of year 2 so you can just keep thickening up the hedge as you like. Once it's how you want it, any further clippings can just be dried and used as fuel like you say.

 

Cool Dave, will be cutting some tommorow
Can always use them for fuel when the privet takes over(if it ever does with this soil)

 

Willow is a weed HBK and I reckon any little bit trampled into the ground will grow.Yours stuck in pots will be safe enough. Don't worry about them.

Ziggy, I wouldn't worry too much about the privet - it's not far behind the Willow.
Years ago we stuck some privet hedge trimmings (well trimmed with a power saw) in the ground to mark out the shape we wanted for a path.
The stuff took root - the ground was pure clay.

 

A contractor was hired to cut down a willow, grub out the roots and then enlarge a pond in my parish, before spreading & levelling the spoil, but unfortunately that willow was dragged out with the JCB bucket together with all the spoil from the pond enlargement, resulting in a pond side willow thicket, and a typical result from allowing an ex-florist Parish Councillor to supervise such works.

Going further back, some one, many years ago, used willow poles to fence their rented paddock. And now just like every year, I'll be (partially) pollarding the resulting willows so they don't shade out my apple trees.

 

Thanks for your replies everybody, you've all been very helpful.

If I'd known willow was so easy to root I wouldn't have taken so many cuttings! Actually one of the cuttings, the one I couldn't resist because of all the leaf nodes running up it, appears to be growing leaves already. It's only been 4 days.

 

I think you may have more of a job on your hands actually killing it rather than getting it to root! :WINK1:

 

Planted my (Tora) willow cuttings today:



Not many to start with, but in a couple of years, and with some further propagation I should have enough to start producing living willow structures.