Willow Varieties Available for Sale

(This page is still being updated with photos and descriptions to be added. Thanks for your patience.)

 Good Willow Farm is currently raising 19 varieties of willow, each with different characteristics and growth habits.This year, our first year open for sales, we will have 12 varieties ready for sale: 5 basketry varieties and 7 great for landscaping and living structures, but good for larger weaving projects as well,  They are listed below with some photos and suggestions for use. Keep in mind that our observations are made in Western North Carolina, at the foothills of Mount Mitchell. Your conditions will affect your experiences. In general, willow needs lots of rain and lots of sun. 

Our variety descriptions are adapted in many cases from Lakeshore Willow and Living Willow Farm, as they are the original "root stock" for the Good Willow Farm. We are also using other respected willow farms' variety descriptions. Our observations are also included, but we bow to expertise. This is our third year as willow farmers. 

Purchasing

These varieties will be available as cuttings for sale and ordering will open up on November 10, 2025. You will have the choice of month between Dec1, 2025 and Feb 27, 2026 for delivery. Cuttings will be about 12" in length and sold in packs of 10, $20 per pack. Minimum order is 3 packs, ($60) perfect to sample different varieties or concentrate on one favorite. Shipping is additional. Tinker & Spinner, an online sales site, is hosting our shop this year. 

We will fill orders for cuttings until Feb 27, and any rods left over will be for sale for living willow applications and basketry. Rods sales will be in-person only here in WNC. Check out the blog starting on March 1 for those products. 

Hedges, Fedges and Living Willow structures

Good Willow Farm is specializing this year in Landscaping uses and these varieties have done really well on our site. They all grow long and straight, first year on and each successive year that they are coppiced will grow back many more rods and become more dense. Excellent for property boundaries, privacy screens and decorative plantings. Some of these varieties can also be used for weaving but they excel in the landscape applications. 

Miyabeana

  "A very large tree up to 50' when not coppiced, A large shrub when coppiced

Works well for large living willow projects, rings and frames for large baskets, bentwood furniture and dry woven fences" -Lakeshore Willow

Red-browns in color. Sturdy and thick rods. Very prolific. Our second year stand is reaching 12 ft lengths. The champ in size and number of rods produced. 

2year old Miyas growing long and dense

Rubykins

"Grows long slender rods with little branching (up to 10') when coppiced annually 

Branches moves graciously in the breeze
Very slender beautiful leaves
Early blooming with many small grey/rose coloured catkins
The tips of new growth are a beautiful pink/reddish
A favourite for living willow work
Beautiful in baskets, but not the easiest to use for basketry. The rods can be difficult to soak satisfactory with a thin bark and woody stem
Dried rods have a mix of brown, yellow and light green colours
Large shrub up to 12' tall if not coppiced
This variety works well for living willow projects and somewhat for basketry" -Lakeshore Willow

Rubykins is my favorite variety,  for sheer beauty and size. This photo from this summer, in its third year, is of 6 plants, spaced about 8"apart and reaching 10 feet. 

  

Rubykins dancing to a May wind in the valley.

Jaune de Falais

"Great winter color in the garden and used in floral arrangements

Great for living structures and making furniture

Great for creating hedges or fedges

When grown as a tree it can reach 20 ft" - Island Willow Farm

Another champ in the size and productivity departments. Beautiful color when the leaves drop. One of our golden varieties.

Vitellina

"Var. vitellina, commonly called golden willow, produces new stems that are bright, golden yellow in color (especially noticeable and attractive in winter) which is the signature of the tree. Accordingly golden willow is often grown not as a tree but as a multi-stemmed shrub with the branches being cut back heavily each year in late winter to about 1' from the ground before new growth appears. Plant is fast growing and can produce up to 8' of new growth in one growing season." - Vermont Willow Nursery

Glorious golden color, long sturdy rods. 

Basfordiana

"Left unpruned this will form a tree to 50ft tall, but we coppice ours every year and end up with 8-10ft golden rods. The trunks of trees do not stay yellow, only the 1-3 year growth. In spring the 2.5in catkins appear with the attractive shiny pendulous leaves." - Vermont Willow Nursery

Another of our golden varieties, very prolific. 

Flame

"The rods are an orange/yellow colour that intensifies in winter

First year's growth is large, heavy and branched, but will grow more slender rods without side shoots in following years. 

A little "soft" when soaked, but can be used for basketry to add some different colour.

Medium to large shrub when not coppiced

This variety is beautiful for colour in your garden when coppiced annually. Also good for some weaving projects." - Lakeshore Willow

 

Harrison B

"An English variety that is a bit stocky, but flexible,  and very popular for medium to large basketry work. Rods are green at the base,  turning to a rich chocolate color towards the tip. An excellent choice for garden structures such as obelisks and plant supports, as well as hurdle fencing. Also a good choice for woven living willow fences, huts, and tunnels." - Willamette Willow

Lovely red tips in the fall, against the dark brown rods and last green leaves. 

Basketry Willows

Basketry willow will tend to have slender rods, very flexible and perform well when weaving. They take a year or two of growing/coppicing before the rods reach a usable length and a vertical growth habit. 

Americana

"Wonderful basket willow - grows almost without any side branching.
Stems turn a rich golden brown color towards the end of the growing season
When soaked for weaving it dries up a beautiful dark green with some brown.
Grows into a large shrub, up to 3 m (10') if not pruned
This variety is ideal for basketry and is also good for living willow work". - Lakeshore Willow

Frances Red

"Grows long, flexible rods without branching

The stems are a  dark green and purplish red when fresh with bluish green leaves 

When soaked and dried the rods are a beautiful dark grey with some purplish red

Great for any part of a basket

Looks and weaves a lot like Salix purpurea 'Bleu'

Medium size shrub if not coppiced

This variety is great for basketry and can also be used for living willow projects.

Bark for weaving can be harvested from 2-3 year old rods."  - Lakeshore Willow

Polish Purple

"It grows abundantly, with many rods per plant (on par with [the] best basketry willows such as Salix x Americana, Bleu etc. This willow has nice tension, and works great in any part of a basket. 
This is a very abundant basketry willow
Grows long, flexible rods without branching

When soaked and dried the rods are a light olive green with blushes of pink
Great for any part of a basket
This variety can also be used for living willow projects.
Bark for weaving can be harvested from 2-3 year old rods." Lakeshore Willow

Irette

"Salix purpurea ‘Irette’. A versatile willow cultivar producing slender, light green rods, ideal for various weaving applications.

The Irette Willow is renowned for its slender, flexible rods that exhibit a light green hue when fresh. This makes it an excellent choice for a variety of weaving projects, including basketry, fences, and sculptures. The plant thrives in full sun to partial shade and benefits from regular deep watering, tolerating a wide range of soil types. Reaching heights of 2 to 5 meters (6 to 16 feet), Irette can be pruned to maintain desired shapes and sizes, making it a valuable addition to both functional and ornamental landscapes." Little Twig Farm

6-9' light green to brown Large rods, early catkins.

Streamco

"'Streamco' will produce up to 60 rods already in its third year when coppiced annually

The rods are a lighter green when fresh

Great for basketry with long, slender and flexible rods with a lot of tension

Will work for all parts of a basket

When soaked and dried in a basket the rods will be a lighter green

This variety does not (as none of the willows that we grow) produce suckers from the root. It does, however, have rods that bend towards the ground and then root. Because of that habit, 'Streamco' is often used for streambank restoration

'Streamco' looks a lot like 'Green Edna', but it weaves differently as it has a lot more tension than 'Green Edna'

A medium size shrub when not coppiced

This variety is great for basketry and is often used for riverbank restoration" -Lakeshore Willow