Shrub willow

[homegrownbucks]

I don’t see this mentioned much but wanted to relay my experience with it. I tried some of these about 5 years ago and they are really coming on good. They are bred for fast growth for biomass and supposedly get 15-20’ in 3 years but don’t turn into a tree.

A couple things I like: they are one of the few plants that was able to do well even when not protected. They are cold hardy unlike the miscanthus on my farm. They are essentially free to propagate now with cuttings, and bucks rub them heavily, which seems to make them send up more suckers.

The variety I have is sx-61 but am trying some other types this year, fish creek being one. I think a few rows could make a good screen even without leaves.

I’ll post some pics when I get a chance, here are some online images. I got my stuff from double a willow

https://www.willowsvermont.com/purfc.html

 

[buckdeer1]

Interesting,how tall do they get? How well do they grow from cuttings

 

[Bill]

Curious to see the ones you planted unprotected. They remind me of a dappled willow. I have a few of those that have reached 6 foot high but there several years old.

 

[Tree Spud]

Looks like a dappled willow also.

Any information on what soil conditions they can survive in?

 

[homegrownbucks]

last pic has small unprotected patch center right, miscanthus is at the top of the field FYI but you can see the switch has turned brown and som hybrid poplar along the edge is dropping leaves

 

[homegrownbucks]

 

[homegrownbucks]

 

[homegrownbucks]

So I have 2 patches, the unprotected patch is halfway up the edge of the switchgrass, the “protected” patch is the one all rubbed up and is at the bottom of the valley, gotta zoom in on some of the pics to see as I wasn’t targeting willows specifically in some of the pics. You can see they rub the crap out of it and it sends suckers up in response. Several year progression from start to finish. You can see it’s still holding leaves with snow on the ground in second to last pic, seems good through early November in my area

 

[buckdeer1]

Did you plant cuttings or bareroot

 

[homegrownbucks]

I started cutting in 1 gallon grow bags for these.

 

[j-bird]

How effective are they once the leaves fall? One of the things I consider the most with the value of a screening plant is how well it creates that screen in Oct/Nov/Dec (hunting season). My fear with a screen that involves the leaves falling is that it will take several rows to be considered effective come Nov/Dec....that is just an opinion. I have seen some great summertime screens that where about as useful as a chain-link fence for screening come leaf drop.

 

[homegrownbucks]

Yeah I’m sure it will take a few rows to screen after leaf drop, I only did single rows and they don’t cut it. I’m gonna do some hinging, try some layering and should have about as many cuttings as I want to expand things.

 

[homegrownbucks]

Plus if I’m not tagged out by leaf drop then I failed lol

 

[jsasker007]

Will they spread on their own?

 

[homegrownbucks]

Mine haven’t and I don’t think they will. I see some of the offerings from double a willow are sandbar type that will send up suckers

 

[Big Snow Man]

So the deer don’t mow them down in the winter ? Mine never get above the fence they are in except Streamco which they won’t touch

 

[homegrownbucks]

They do but they are able to regrow and outpace the browse on my place, which is what amazed me as pretty much everything gets destroyed that isn’t caged

 

[Tree Spud]

They do but they are able to regrow and outpace the browse on my place, which is what amazed me as pretty much everything gets destroyed that isn’t caged

The only way you will get true, year round, sustainable screening is with caged pines or spruces.

These are nice mid-summer, but don't really provide hunting season or year round screening.

 

[homegrownbucks]

I think if you have some depth they can, no one has hinged them and layered them that I can find so we will see.

 

[homegrownbucks]

It can get dense