Like other willows, the willow can be propagated by cuttings. These do not always root reliably, so it is better to use several sticks. You get mostly female plants. The male willows (Salix caprea mas) are grafted.
The sallow willow is best propagated using cuttings
Willow is a robust, hardy woody plant that grows wild in our latitudes as a large shrub or small tree or is cultivated in parks and large gardens. In spring, the willow is very popular with bees and people as the first herald of spring with its distinctive catkin blossoms.
Salix caprea is characterized by strong growth of up to 100 cm per year. However, it is an extremely pruning-tolerant plant, so that the vigorous growth can be kept within limits by the targeted annual maintenance pruning. The cut branches can be used for propagation, for example to grow new hedge plants.
Cutting wood propagation step by step
This type of propagation produces only female plants. The following points are important:
- use several annual branches for propagation because of unreliable rooting,
- Cut sticks (branch ends) at the end of February before the leaves sprout,
- Location should be semi-shady and sheltered from the wind,
- Stick sticks up to a third of the length of the branch into the loose, humus-rich soil,
- Press and water the soil well
- Keep the substrate evenly moist, do not let it dry out!
Once the cuttings have developed roots, they are planted in their final location at the end of September or next spring with a ball of earth. Depending on the purpose of propagation, the cuttings can be pruned to grow into a small or large willow shrub or tree.
finishing
The commercially available male willow varieties (Salix caprea mas) are grafted plants. With this method of propagation, individual shoots or buds of one type of tree are placed on the so-called rootstock of the other type of tree. This is done by grafting or grafting and requires horticultural experience.
tips
Other Salix species are easier to propagate from cuttings: osier (Salix viminalis), purple willow (Salix purpurea), weeping willow (Salix alba Tristis) or corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana tortuosa).