Caring For Your Willow

You’ve planted your willows and they are doing well! Here are a few tips when caring for your willow.

• You may need a physical barrier to protect them. Depending on your area, different threats will present themselves. The nursery has suffered beaver incursions and nibbling rabbits. We even had a tunnel destroyed when deer rubbing their antlers got caught. You know your area best and which creatures will love your willow too. Consider using fencing to defend new plantings.
• Pruning the first rods is a must. In order to properly develop your willow’s stool, you must prune the first year’s growth. When you prune them, be sure to do so as close to the base of the plant as you can. These first cuts will be the point where new growth is stimulated. The more you coppice the more you stimulate growth!
• Any major pruning should be done when the plant enters dormancy – after the leaves drop and before they leaf-out. Willows can be coppiced or pollarded, or trained to grow however you wish. Trimming back growth during the growing seasons can be done but do so sparingly. Growth up to two to three years can be cut using hand pruners.
• Catkins are produced on the previous season’s growth. The new stems you see this year will have catkins next year. Coppice or pollard annually to keep those catkins coming!
• The newest growth has the most brilliant color. For varieties with colored stems, the color will remain for two to three years, some longer, but will start to turn grey as it ages. Coppice or pollard every few years to keep producing brilliant colored stems. Color is most vibrant in winter and spring.
• If you want dried catkins for decoration, cut stems in early spring before the catkins bloom. Do not add water! To keep the best form, hang upside down until fully dried. They’ll keep for a long time.
• Even after they’ve become established, willows are thirsty. During dry periods, they may need continued watering.