I keep saying I'm going to grow willow just so I'd have some handy here for making baskets and other things around the home and garden. Never seem to get around to it, but it's on the list!
So many things to grow, so little time. I like growing it because its so easy and productive. And since the crop isn't food, I don't need to worry about protecting it from birds and raccoons! - Mark
I just took the "plunge" recently and I can confidently say it's been the most productive, easiest and funnest to grow propagation I have with about the easiest care. The only thing I worry about for them is water. They rarely need fertilizing or protection, but boy howdy do they get thirsty but they GROW and do something with that water, so it's worth it.
I love this idea. Do you find that the roots sap water from nearby beds, even with the smaller "bushing" type willows? There seems to be plenty of "advice" or at least anecdotal knowledge about the bigger willows like Babylonica and Alba, but I've been struggling to find info about other willows. And what are you using the willow for?
Great! I’ll try to take a short video to show progress and share it. They are really starting to grow now with the long days of sunlight. We have some space at our place and our willows are out in the field so we don’t worry too much about roots spreading. While I wouldn’t plant them near a structure, we coppice our willows to the ground every year so the roots won’t be able to spread too far anyway…. Coppicing yearly limits growth somewhat. We harvest all the willow branches every year. We sell cuttings online for other people to grow and keep longer stems that we hope to sell locally for floral arrangements or basketry work. -Mark
@@dingdongsgarden Oh neat! I figured coppicing had some degree of effect. I've been considering doing some rows of my favorite variety of willows and a few other trees with similar characteristics in the back half acre of my property for myself and then selling the extras at a local market. My biggest concern was that I have a septic line running along the edge of the property there, but I'm going to be sure to plant it as far away from that as I can. With the setup, I can easily plant them 50 feet from any structures, but I'd love to plant and coppice some for decorative purposes closer to the house or perhaps a hedgerow along the property line. Glad to find your channel, your videos have been answering a lot of curiosities I've had lately!
Here's an update on the willow hedge is taking shape after four months - Mark: ua-cam.com/users/shortsyoXft2fM_ok
I keep saying I'm going to grow willow just so I'd have some handy here for making baskets and other things around the home and garden. Never seem to get around to it, but it's on the list!
So many things to grow, so little time. I like growing it because its so easy and productive. And since the crop isn't food, I don't need to worry about protecting it from birds and raccoons! - Mark
I just took the "plunge" recently and I can confidently say it's been the most productive, easiest and funnest to grow propagation I have with about the easiest care.
The only thing I worry about for them is water. They rarely need fertilizing or protection, but boy howdy do they get thirsty but they GROW and do something with that water, so it's worth it.
I love this idea. Do you find that the roots sap water from nearby beds, even with the smaller "bushing" type willows? There seems to be plenty of "advice" or at least anecdotal knowledge about the bigger willows like Babylonica and Alba, but I've been struggling to find info about other willows.
And what are you using the willow for?
Great! I’ll try to take a short video to show progress and share it. They are really starting to grow now with the long days of sunlight.
We have some space at our place and our willows are out in the field so we don’t worry too much about roots spreading. While I wouldn’t plant them near a structure, we coppice our willows to the ground every year so the roots won’t be able to spread too far anyway…. Coppicing yearly limits growth somewhat.
We harvest all the willow branches every year. We sell cuttings online for other people to grow and keep longer stems that we hope to sell locally for floral arrangements or basketry work. -Mark
@@dingdongsgarden Oh neat! I figured coppicing had some degree of effect. I've been considering doing some rows of my favorite variety of willows and a few other trees with similar characteristics in the back half acre of my property for myself and then selling the extras at a local market.
My biggest concern was that I have a septic line running along the edge of the property there, but I'm going to be sure to plant it as far away from that as I can. With the setup, I can easily plant them 50 feet from any structures, but I'd love to plant and coppice some for decorative purposes closer to the house or perhaps a hedgerow along the property line.
Glad to find your channel, your videos have been answering a lot of curiosities I've had lately!
Here's how the willows are doing... ua-cam.com/users/shortsyoXft2fM_ok