Hi Lois,

I came across some information on that subject recently on the propagation forum. Apparently willows are very easy to root.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rooting willows

willows in general are very easy to root -I trimmed my pussy willow last year, had the branches lying on the ground for several weeks, then used them as stakes for my beans - they sprouted! We've used willow stakes in creek banks to help with erosion and those we just stick in the bank.

Hi Lois
I would like to have a curly willow. mary

Oh Rats, I'd kiss your feet for a cutting of fantail willow. Unfortunately, I need to be in Kodiak for May and June so I'lI miss the plant swap. It sounds so exciting though that I'm already looking foreward to 2004.
Regular willows root easily. The curly and fantails may be more difficult but should still root and grow. Good luck

Yes, your willow will root. You don't even have to crush the ends. Mine took about a week in water to send out roots.It will also root if you just stick it in the ground. I also would like some of the fantail willow at the swap.

Lois, I would like to try one...how tall and wide does it get? and in what sun light do you grow yours?

Connie, It is 12 - 15 ft. now, 6 yrs since I purchased the cuttings (both the curly and "fantail") at a garden show in March. Grows in full sun but does not provide shade. I planted 3 cuttings in the same pot and they have grown together into 1 twisted stem (with a little encouragement). It surprised us several years ago by "weeping", apparently has to have some growth before weeping. Wide?? Mine is more a single (twisted) trunk, not a shrub or bush.

The "fantial" however is not "tidy"..... it grows out and hangs over the grass, making it hard to mow around/under - that's why I cut it back. If you have the room it does provide some interesting cuttings while still dormant. Both in full sun.

Lois, thanks for the info...let me get back to you after talking with my sister as it is her yard I will be planting this in..LOL

I would like to know where can I get books to know everything about willows

Don't know where to get books on willow except try amazon.com, they should have something. I did a google search and found a lot of info at several nursery sites.

I received a ten foot curly willow in late May for my birthday and within two weeks many of the leaves started turning yellow and dropping, despite it having been apparently healthy when bought, and having been planted in a sunny appropriately watered location. Shortly thereafter, the ends of the limbs started turning solid black from the ends inward. I cut off the blackness but it continued to move inward on the limbs toward the trunk. I removed a limb to root in case I lost the tree, and it is rooting in water, but it is also turning black on the end - therefore it is not due to lack of water. What's happening to this tree? The reputable gardening specialist from whom the tree was purchased refunded the cost, and does not know what the problem is. I would like to save it if possible. Can anyone offer suggestions?

It sure will. I had a flower arrangement given to me and when the flowers died I was in the process of getting them thrown away but when I came to the curly willow which had branches about 2ft. long and about as large as a thumb the branches had very long roots. Not crushed either just stuck in the arrangement for accent. I put them in dirt and they are growing like crazy.
Elaine

what is the differance between a curly willow and a matsudana willow? thx, reenmo

None, the same plant. Salix matsudona curly, common name; curly willow.OK

What is causing the limbs to turn black? We have Weeping Willow that is doing that.

Sharon

I want to get a curly willow Ive been looking but so far havent seen any at the nursery.Yesterday I heard on TV the water you have rootimngs in for some reason willows put out a harmone that if you take that water and put plants in you want to root they will. Liuke the rooting harmone you dip cuttings in.You just reuse the water willow cuttings were in.Our local red lobster has a beautiful curly willow.I have 2 weeping that when wind blows limbs break off start growing other places in pond.

I tried putting branches in water, of our Weeping Willow and they just died.

Has anyone gotten WW to grow in water?

Sharon

Schutjer: Have no idea why ends turn black,I just cut them off. The cuttings from last year were rooted in water in a 5 gal. bucket.

bulldinkie: e-mail me if you want cuttings.

I have my curly willow rooting in the back of my fish tank. Most things seem to root faster and better in the fish's water.

I hope I'm not too late, but I also found this link of willow diseases while looking up curly willows.

Here is a link that might be useful: willow diseases

is curly willow and corkscrew willow the same? i bought a gorgeous corkscrew willow at Lowe's 2 months ago for 14.95! it is about 9 feet tall with lots of leaves and limbs...i love it!

Better to stick them in the ground where you want them instead of in water.

They need to go deep. This March, I took a long, steel "poker" I use for a woodstove, hammered it into the ground several feet w/a hacket, then pushed a willow stick into the hole. Of a dozen sticks, only 2 failed to sprout. The best has 1' sprouts so far.

I have always heard that willows love water and will block sewer systems. So I planted my rooted curly/corkscrew/dragon's claw willow cuttings as far from my water & sewer lines as my property line would permit.

When I was 9 one of my best friends was a very old, very large weeping willow. It was a favorite of many of the neighborhood kids. One day I came home from school to go play on 'the tree' only to find it was nothing more than a stump sheared off at just above ground level. Needless to say we were heartbroken. It seems that 'the tree' had been interferring with the sewer lines and needed to go.

Yes!!! it certainly WILL! :))))))

Yes all willows sprout easily.I have wild willows,weeping,when we have storms pieces break off and sprout on short.They all grow like crazy too.I want to get a curly maple Ive been looking for one.Red Lobster in ourtown has one its beautiful.I planted a weeping 10 years ago.Its huge at least 40'high.

My friend just bought a curly willow and has it planted right next to her house. If she keeps the tree trimmed back will the roots still become a problem?

Even though she may be very sincere about keeping it trimmed back, this beast could get out of control, both vertically and below ground. My philosophy is: there are too many different types of plants in this world to establish an account with Roto Rooter.

If she seriously wants a small version of it near the house, maybe growing it in a container (preferably one where the roots cannot escape) may be the solution. Maybe one of those oversized plastic pots that looks real, but with a saucer to keep the root in its place. This would also have the advantage of (1) constraining its growth above ground and (2) making for easy disposal when she realizes it cannot be done.

somebody demonstrating what willows can do to sewers held up what looked like a piece of sewer pipe, complete with bell end. But what it was was a willow root which had grown into a pipe and packed it solid with root. They had broken the pipe to get the root out and it came out in one piece looking like a cast of the pipe.
Keep these things far away from septic tanks, sewer lines, wells, irrigation lines, whatever. Mine is on the bank of a stream, far below my septic tank field and NOT in the garden. A willow will find whatever you are fertilizing and soon your flower bed will be a solid mass of roots. I had a curly willow in a metal bucket in the driveway. A year later it had pushed the bottom of the pail out and was rooted into the driveway. Needed an axe to get it out of there.

My curly willow has been in for a year and is..12 feet high! I want to use the curls for design purposes and they are quickly becoming out of reach. By pruning how? will I be able to make this more of a shrub? ie. Can I prune so severely that I cut TRUNK off (forcing it to sprout close to ground or send up new shoots?

My granny has taken a piece of a willow branch and rooted it in a potato, somehow the potato causes the branch to root and it did grow in my yard. Now since reading this I'm scared because I planted my willow away from my septic, but it is close to a drainage ditch that is filled with rock that I have going around my house (it keeps my house from getting flooded). Also curious I had several different trees, a holly, then an arborvitae that died, first the leaves dropped from the holly then the ends of the limbs turned black and it eventually died. My granny didn't know what it was, thought it was a disease of some sort? Then the arborvitae did the same thing, the ends of turned black, so I watered it excessively and it died too. Does anyone know what causes this blackening of the limbs on trees and plants?

I received an arrangement with bare curley willow in it. I removed the dead roses, but left the curley willow in water, and it has sprouted greanery and has rooted. I live near Eugene, OR, where it freezes occasionally during the winter and gets up into the 90's during the summer. Plant outside or can I plant it and leave it inside? I think it is beautiful. Thanks, Patricia

I also received curly willow in a flower arrangement and have rooted itin a vase. Can I make it a house plant and keep it in an indoor pot, and trim roots to keep it that way?

I have read that curly willows are much less likely to get into pipes than other willows. In 5 years my tree grew from a cutting to about 30 feet. Give it plenty of room or you will be whacking at it constantly. If rooting in water plant the cutting soon after it shows roots. Leaving it in water for weeks caused the roots to become weak and break off when planting. One yearn late winter I brought the bare branches inside and set them upright in a tall basket. They rooted in air! This is a wonderful tree but can be a pest if sited improperly. I've raised them for years from cuttings to sell at my garden clubs plant sale.

They are great, as are fantail willows, and they do root in water, dirt, or whatever, as long as they are kept moist.

Love my scarlet curly willow. Please help me save it. The branches are turning black from the tip toward the trunck. Today I discovered bag worms and took them all off. What do I need to do? I live in central Virginia, if that helps.