The end of the Willow Season

The willow season is well and truly over although we are still getting plenty of enquiries.  When the weather warms up and the days get longer, people start thinking about getting into their garden and planting – even though it might be too late for certain things.

Ideally, willow will be planted before the end of March, even earlier if it’s a particularly warm, dry spring.

This season we sold pretty much every last rod. 
Last year was a great growing year and the Osier put on plenty of length (in some years, there can be a shortage of longer willow). Our Osier can grow up to 12’ in a year, which makes a long bundle of one year old rods.

A few bundles of long willow are busily sprouting in the trough, left over, that noone wanted.  It always makes me feel a bit sad that it won’t be grown but with a couple of acres already planted up, we probably have enough!

We have streamlined to 3 varieties of willow: Osier (Salix viminalis) for the long, straight, sturdy rods; Noire de Villaine (Salix triandra) for the thin, whippy rods and Salix Red a Salix viminalis hybrid that has a reddish hue to the one year old rods and is great for diagonal weaving or for making small structures.

If you planted willow this winter, make sure it is well watered whilst it gets established – a good soaking of the ground two or three times a week.  Other than that, just stand back and watch it grow…

JPR Environmental online willow shop