I can't say but I might like to try the willow water method sometime. Maybe you have to have fresh. Anyway, here is a link with detailed instructions on how to make it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Using Willow Water to Root Rose Cuttings

Sounds like an easy formula to make. I don't think I've ever seen a Weeping Willow here in Florida. I used to have one in my backyard in NJ though.

There is a fine specimen of weeping willow about a block away; naturally that is the first to come to mind. I planted a pussywillow this spring, but couldn't cut pieces off that until it gets much larger. The article says any member of the willow family will work. I googled florida willow and came up with the link posted.

If that link doesn't work, here is a link I got from that page with a .pdf file, it's got nice photos on it.

http://www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Salix_floridana.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Willow article

The legal status of the Florida Willow says it is endangered. My luck is I'd strip some bark off or take a few fallen branches and I'd be doing 25 years in prison.

I saw that, too, wasn't sure it was just that one area or the entire state. How about the Carolina willow, is that endangered as well? I agree, no sense risking prison over that. Maybe if you called your local extension office, they might have some suggestions. Sometimes, if they truly want to be helpful, they can be. Something will turn up for you.

Carolina Willow is endangered as well. Like I said I have never even seen a Willow down here among the palm trees in Florida. I was hoping to find a source for the bark for making the rooting substance. I can't believe I am getting to the point of finding a northern friend with Willow trees to mail me a package of broken branches... Florida never seems to have anything I need. Thank God for mail ordering/catalogs and the internet.

Isn't asperin made from willow-bark? Has anyone tried to root using asperin? Just curious if anyone knows. That could be a good idea.

I think aspirin as we know it today is basically a synthetic version of the willow water. I could be wrong though. If thats the case I may mix up some crushed aspirin.

Why insist on chasing this butterfly when other well known rooting hormones that work are readily available? Malcolm Manners tried doing an experiment with willow water several years ago and IT DIDN'T WORK. See http://www.ars.org/About_Roses/propagating-cuttings.htm. I believe that his original article gave the preparation of the willow water extract. Most rooting products have IBA (indole butyric acid) and/or NAA (napthalene acetic acid). If you do try using willow water, at least do an experiment to confirm its efficacy (for one variety). Plant at least three dozen cuttings of similar size and condition. Separate them into three groups of 12. Each group should be separately treated with one of the following: (1) willow water (you should give the preparation details i.e. what wood, how much wood, amount of water, length of boiling time, etc.; (2) a known hormone (eg - hormodin II or some other one containing IBA and/or NAA); (3) and a final group using no treatment. That is a minimum of 36 cuttings of the same variety (three treatments), if possible. Without a controlled experiment, rooting a handful of cuttings is just another observation and you won't know whether the variety would have rooted without the willow water or better with a comercially available hormone. Let us know the outcome of your controlled experiment. I vaguely remember seeing an article on this in The ARS Rose Annual done many years ago. One of the 108,000 hits on google using willow water rose cuttings is http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/proprose.pdf. This article gives a recipe for getting the unknown rooting auxin (it may be IAA, another auxin) from willow and suggests that it is effective in controlled experiments but didn't say whether the experiment was with roses. Best.

I doubt I can do a controlled experiment when I can't even find asource for Willow bark or willow water. For now I will stick with Rootone.

I know this is an old thread, and maybe no one will see this, but I will post it anyway. I use willow leaves for making willow water. I always try to use leaves rather than bark or roots, as most trees can spare leaves in the small quantities needed. They work just as well, and don't threaten the trees. And at least here in TX, common escaped willows (s. alba and s. nigra) are everywhere. The green spaces behind malls, railroad easments, banks of canals and drainages, edges of parks, fields, fencerows, etc.
Jeanine

jr mankins I'm still following this thread. Still haven't found willow water or extract so I sort of gave up looking for it. Have gone the way the hydroponic people go with rooting hormoe in gel form. Works better than the Rootone or the Schultz "Take Root" powder products.

I found a spot on the web to order the willow water, works great.

http://www.revkem.com/proroot.html

Here is a link that might be useful: ProRoot

Hi,

I was reading this thread and realized I have something useful in my yard. I have one of the biggest weeping willows growing on my property. Its huge and soon the leaves will be sprouting. The leaves hang low and in fall, the leaves and lots of twigs come down. Even now, I am pretty sure there are twigs and small branches all over the ground.

I will be happy to send you some leaves/twigs for SASBE, if you really want them.

Anna

I've got white pussywillow in a glass in a sunny window. I stuck Ivy cuttings a few weeks ago.

{{gwi:649392}}

It's a great method for things that can be rooted in water. I use the water when I change it for small rooted cuttings.

I make willow extract in nevada, if you are interested email me and i can send you a bottle. Pete.jnypizza@gmail.com