Willow Cuttings

Quick Propagation
Willow trees will easily grow from cuttings, if not planted in the extremes of where they like to grow.  In other words; where the land is neither too boggy nor too dry in the growing season.


Willows really like the best of both worlds:

1. They need a constant supply of water, such as a river, bog or a permanently reachable water table that they can send roots down to.
2. They like some unsaturated, breathable soil.  With this, the roots can breathe and the whole plant grows better and faster.

The Willows that I have the highest success rate for and which have grown the fastest and biggest are always where I have planted them in the edge of a swamp.  Where their roots can easily penetrate both; the saturated swamp & the breathable earth.

Planting Willows in highly saturated, or in areas which will dry out in the Summer; will achieve greater success, if rooted, seed grown saplings are used, as willows will suit most sites, but cuttings will not survive if they can not reach saturated soil, nor if they cant breathe.


I have noticed that Willows (as well as many other plants, but to a much greater extent), when they topple over and root themselves further in to the swamp; seem to bring up whole chunks of ground, which then becomes breathable unsaturated little 'swamp islands, where all the swamp dwellers, including the Willows, can get a bit of dry.

Collecting 
Cuttings are more temperamental and less take, than with seed grow trees, but they are so much quicker and easier to collect, that many more can be planted and cuttings can usually be collected locally.


It is more difficult to get a good variety of willows, with this method, as many of the trees will be clones of the same mother plants.  It is good therefore to collect cuttings from as many trees as possible.


The cuttings must be long and straight enough to push about half a metre into the wet mud and also to be taller than the height of the summer vegetation on the site.


The thicker the branches used, the better they seen to grow.

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