Willow Facts

Willow has its own schedule and requirements that are unlike food crops but most like trees, because they are deciduous trees, of course, but grown as a crop to harvest the long straight branches, not for the shade of its leaves. The process of raising willow as a crop entails the use of an ancient practice called coppicing, which is the act of cutting the willow branches, or rods, down to the ground to form a base, or stool, to grow many more rods than if left to branch normally. A stand of willow in crop rotation is often called a coppice. Pollarding is a style of coppicing, and is simply training a single main rod to grow about 3 ft. from the ground to be the main trunk and all rods will eventually grow from that elevated stool. This causes the willow to look more like a tree than a shrub and makes bed maintenance and harvesting much easier. 

If left uncoppiced, most willow will grow into large and rangy trees and shrubs, up to 20' and taller. 

There are so many uses for willow! Here are just the first ones I can think of:

Dried willow

• baskets, of course
• furniture
• craft decor and ornaments
• so many garden uses, from plant containers, cloches, plant supports and obelisks, bed edging, tomato cages, etc.
• fencing with dry willow in many styles, includes wattles and hurdles
• Sculptures 

Live Willow

• tall, quick growing and dense hedges
• Stream bank suppor
  
• fencing with live willow - called fedges - a woven willow fence that grows from that structure into a hedge
• landscape specimens for shape and winter color
• privacy shields in strategic locations
• living willow archways, gazebos, tunnels and pods, structures made from growing willow. 

...and anything needing a good straight stick!  

Growing a planned willow bed for your own basketry and craft materials requires coppicing every year to get the preferred qualities for weaving. You can also let the rods age on the plant and harvest them 2-5 or even 7 years in rotation to get sturdy posts for fencing, heavy rods for structural uses as well as to strip for bark for weaving purposes. Willow is one of the fastest growing biofuel sources if you are into that practice. 

Which Willow?

There are at least 100 varieties, with new ones being developed and old varieties rediscovered. Their Latin prefix is Salix, and these are groups of varieties that have specific characteristics. These are the families available at GWF right now: 

Salix purpurea is the main basketry family, Their rods tend to be thin and flexible. They won't be the tallest willow variety usually, coming in the 4-6 ft range. They also seem to need a year or two before they produce lots of rods. 

Salix fragilis grows tall and stocky, great for hedges and living willow work. There are some varieties that are also good for baskets. Many of these have the bright gold and red rod colors that show off in the winter. 

We also have some hybrid families,  like Americana, Flame, Miyabeana, Alba and Rubra. These combine qualities of two or more families and tend to be insect and drought resistant where established families may be more vulnerable. 

We are adding Salix trianda and Salix daphnoides for more varieties and colors this year! We'll add info on them after they have a year to establish

Growing Willow

Growing willow couldn't be easier - you are sticking a 12" cutting or 3+ ft rod into the ground, burying 8-9" underneath the dirt to grow roots. Heavy mulching will help keep competition from weeds and grasses. The willow can grow several feet per week in the right conditions - full sun and regular rain - and some varieties will reach 7-8 ft by fall in the first year. If you coppice, successive years will show substantial growth each successive year, for at least 7-10 years. 

One strong advantage to growing willow is that most of the work involved happens in the cooler months of spring (planting) and fall (harvesting). Summers you just have to keep an eye on the rainfall and winters they lie dormant. 

For more information on growing, see this page on Growing Tips and other purchasing advice, or you can download a pdf of the brochure we send with the cuttings. 

Willow Fedges and Living Willow

Fedges are living willow fences that hedge out above and around the fence structure. They have the effect of a topiary if the fence structure is trimmed regularly. To create a fedge, you plant willow rods and weave them together for strength, then trim as they grow. 

Living willow structures are similarly built. By planting the largest, strongest rods as the basic structure, and weaving in supporting rods, all planted at the base, you can create living arches, tunnels, gazebos and hobbit hideaways that continue to grow and become part of the landscape. These are great for the backyard, but also wonderful in a park or commons for the community to enjoy.