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Hi folks,
A few months ago my local council, at the behest of some neighbours, chopped down a half dozen or so willow trees. There was some issue of roots erupting and the trees starting to lean toward houses, so I won't criticise the neighbours too much for this one!!
Anyway, each of the tree stumps nw has multitudes of shoots erupting out of them, and they are growing unabated. The council don't appear too bothered by it, and I was thinking of coppicing some of the shoots and planting them at home, with a view to creating the living wall of willow I've always wanted and which the wife knows nothing about.... However, I'm a complete novice at anything like this, I wouldn't know how far down the shoot to cut, whether to cut straigh or obliquely, hw long each shoot should be, basically, everything.
I have an area set aside in the garden for a hedge which I was planning to create in the autumn. However, I've heard that willow will grow at any time, and if so, I thought I should get in first before the council realise belatedly what has happened to the tree stumps. And I have no doubt that the council would come back and dig up the stumps- my local council seems intent on turning my local area into sme post- soviet industrial wasteland. Green bad- bricks goood. Hmm.
Does anyone have any advice or experience in doing stuff like this (planting willow, rather than helping myself to wild coppiced willow shoots) as I'd love it if it were possible to do it.
I even love magpies
Hi Johnny
if you cut the willow in 6 to 10 inch lenghts and make the cuts at a slight angle you should be fine. Plant them rounghl a foot apart and leave them to it.
Hope thats a help
Cheers
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
Sounds very complicated with coppacing. I wonder if your can simply ring up the Council and they advice you what to do and make out that you are not going to affect any work that they will be doing in your area (if that makes sense). They may have information they can send you via e-mail or the post.
The other option is to get in touch with the Tree Preservation people/Wildlife Groups who deal with Trees, and I am sure that they will be able to help you. Maybe they can send out an officer to advise you
I found a link that should help you. It seems you need to cut back the Willow when it is a certain age and concentrate on doing certain things at certain times of the year. Still the additional link is worth a read any time.
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Let us know how you get along with this project
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Best wait until winter as the soil will not dry out and the willow will push in much better,do not think the length matters much but would not leave longer than a yard as the wind would rock them and disturb.In my opinion unlikely to start growing in summer,just die,must be plenty of places to get branches to cut in pieces and set even if that lot go.
Thanks for the link, Blackbird, the info on it is great. The Scottish Wildlife Trust are trying to create a living willow feature in one of their reserves- it may be worth my while asking them how they'd be starting it off.
I cut a few stems a the weekend, more in hope than expectation, and have planted them. I'll see how they get on over the summer before deciding on whether to, er, 'liberate' some more for autumn planting, or whether to bite the financial bullet and buy some in.
Hi Johnny Mac.
I’ve planted willow at all times of the year, it’s so easy to root. I’ve planted anything from a foot to six feet. All I do is cut off the required length, push it onto the ground between 6-12 inches (depending on how windy your site is) and water well. The key to getting them to root and grow is not to let the ground dry out. If your ground is dry you may need to keep them watered for a couple of years until they have really established.
Build it and they will come.
Unknown said: Hi Johnny Mac. I’ve planted willow at all times of the year, it’s so easy to root. I’ve planted anything from a foot to six feet. All I do is cut off the required length, push it onto the ground between 6-12 inches (depending on how windy your site is) and water well. The key to getting them to root and grow is not to let the ground dry out. If your ground is dry you may need to keep them watered for a couple of years until they have really established.
Thanks Wildlife Friendly,
I have a dozen or so shoots in various places (me and my boy 'liberated' them at the weekend from the tree stumps) and I've been watering them nightly. They have started to droop, and I'm not sure whether I should have stripped the leaves off first. But, there is a ready supply of shoots 5 minutes away from me, so trial and error is fine. Me and the boy walking through the estate with bundles of willow shoots merely added to the neighbours' belief that I'm off my rocker!!!
Any time with the help. {big smile}
I thought that the link presented all the seasonal things that you need to do with Willow.
Love to see the result. Can you post a picture of your Willow on the RSPB?
Unknown said:I’ve planted willow at all times of the year, it’s so easy to root. I’ve planted anything from a foot to six feet. All I do is cut off the required length, push it onto the ground between 6-12 inches
I agree with wildlife friendly, in that I've never had any problems rooting willow. In fact I have rooted pieces of 'tortured willow' that I've taken out of flower arrangements, by just sticking them in a bottle of water.
Once they have grown roots you can plant them.
In the past I've had to chop down a tortured willow tree that grew too big from a cutting that rooted in a bottle of water.
Best wishes Chris
Click Here to see my photos
Hi Blackbird,
If I ever get round to geting a real digital camera (my father in law gave me his old one a few years ago, which has an effective range measured in inches. Then he took the memory card out and kept it. Grand!!) I'll be able to post some images so people can put pictures to my stories. Mrs JOhnny Mac has told me to save up my pocket money, which to date means that I am saving up for a DSLR, spotting scope, and lightweight 10x25 binos (to complement or reaplce the 26 year old Russian army 7x50s, which are so heavy I need to carry a rucksack in order to correct the curvature of the spine.)
Oh, and of course, a hat like Simon King's. He makes green headwear look cool!!!
Thanks, Woodpecker.
The shoots I have cut already I planted direct into compost. Assuming the weather keeps right, me and the boy will, ahem, liberate some more on Saturday and will soak them in water until they root. Its all trial and error so far, but it is a helluva lot of fun doign it!!!