After a blessedly mild winter, our gardens are buzzing with life. Hellebores, witch hazel, crocus, snowdrops, and pussy willows are in full bloom - providing much needed sustenance to early pollinators. We even sighted our first butterfly this week!
To better help our early pollinators, we are offering a limited number of willow cuttings now through the end of March. Pussy willows are just about the best plant you can grow for early pollinators. They are the first to bloom each year - many beginning in January - and they provide a vital food source for emerging invertebrates.
How to plant
Willows are the easiest plant to grow from cuttings.
First, select a site in full sun with relatively moisture retentive soil. Remove weeds from the area and apply mulch to keep weeds down. Next, use a pointed implement (a tire iron or piece of rebar works well) to make an 8” deep hole in the ground. Now, gently push the cutting into the ground, leaving only 2” above ground. Firm the soil around the cutting and water well. You should see new shoots in a few weeks. Keep new plants water well while they establish.
Where to plant
Willows are low maintenance.
Willows are extremely tolerant of soil conditions. You can find them growing along riversides, in deserts, or high up in the mountains on alpine slopes. That said, most enjoy relatively moisture-retentive soil.
Willows should never be planted near septic systems, foundations, or sidewalks. They have long, questing roots that can do some serious damage.
Those long, questing roots also make willows a low maintenance plant. We have not watered any of the willows on our farm since planting (not that we recommend this behavior!).
Which to plant
There is a willow for everyone and seemingly for every purpose.
Floral arranging, basket making, weaving, screening, hedging, living fences, shade, biofuel, colorful winter stems... we could keep going. All are easy to grow and easy to propagate. Most prefer moist soil and full sun.
For early pollinators:
S. gracilistyla 'Mount Aso' (pink pussy willow)
S. gracilistyla 'Melanostachys' (black pussy willow)
S. x leucopithecia 'Rabbit's Foot' (rabbit's foot willow)
S. irrorata 'Violet Beauty' (bluestem willow)
S. miyabeana 'Winter Green' (Smith's purple willow)
S. triandra 'Whissender' (almond-leaved willow)
Salix gracilistyla 'Mount Aso' pink catkins. Image Credit: peganum from Small Dole, England, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
For flashy catkins:
S. gracilistyla 'Mount Aso' (pink pussy willow)
S. gracilistyla 'Melanostachys' (black pussy willow)
S. x leucopithecia 'Rabbit's Foot' (rabbit's foot willow)
For winter stems:
S. udensis 'Sekka' (Japanese fantail willow)
S. purpurea 'Nancy Saunders' (purple willow)
S. irrorata 'Violet Beauty' (bluestem willow)
S. miyabeana 'Winter Green' (Smith's purple willow)
S. triandra 'Whissender' (almond-leaved willow)
S. pendulina f. salamonii 'Chrysocoma' (golden weeping willow)
S. fragilis f. vitellina 'Aurea' (golden willow)
Salix eleagnos f. angustifolia glaucous foliage in garden
For foliage:
S. babylonica 'Crispa' (ramshorn willow)
S. purpurea 'Nancy Saunders' (purple willow)
S. alba 'Silver Column' (white willow)
S. fragilis f. vitellina 'Aurea' (golden willow)
S. integra 'Hakuro-Nishiki' (dappled willow)
S. eleagnos f. Angustifolia (rosemary willow)