Saturday, March 10, 2012

Rooting willows

During the past week, I have been trimming pussy willow trees and making bunches that JP Parker sells in her booth at the Flower and Patio show in Indianapolis at the fairgrounds, along with cut flowers. Many of the patrons of the show buy bunches of pussywillow,corkscrew willow and red-twig dogwood to use as decorative elements in vases. For this use, the only thing they need to do is just place them in a vase or other suitable container. NO WATER!!!!

Many people are interested in rooting these plants to grow their own trees. Willows are easily rooted by taking a pencil-thick stem and pushing it into the ground. This must be done RIGHT NOW while the willows are still fresh.
It is also possible to immerse the stems in water in a container. Over a period of of several weeks, roots will appear and the stems can be planted in a hole. The stems should be buried as deeply as possible. They are pretty tolerant of different types of soil, but they do need open sky. They will get quite large in a short length of time.Corkscrew willow grows faster than any tree I know. Be careful not to plant them too close to buildings or under wires.
The more they are trimmed the bushier they get. I have a number of people I know who have pussywillow or corkscrew willow who have me trim their trees annually. This maintains the health of the tree and I am able to use the trimmings. I use curly willow for trim on my furniture.
There is qute a lot of information about rooting and growing willows on the Internet. You can also contact me and I will try to guide you through the process or answer questions.
Greg Adams, PO box 745, Lapel, Indiana 46051 765-534-3009 or email me at Willowbygregadams@Gmail.com.

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