[Creagan]

Was surprised not to find this out through Google, so thought I'd ask here.
I am considering leaving the bulk of my tree planting till next spring, but I have some willow to trim just now and was going to try planting the cuttings in a boggy patch in the field.
I realise this isn't the ideal time of year, but will it be a complete waste of my time or is there a decent chance that they will take root?

Thanks

[Fleecewife]

If you keep them wet, they will root 

[pgkevet]

It's almost harder to stop willow rooting!
I remember when i was a lad ducking the pterodactyls to fetch willow for my old man to use as bean canes...he tried everything from planting them upsidedown to charring the ends in a fire and the darned things still rooted every year.
I had some staves here that had been cut at least 6 mths and i forgot they were willow before using them as tree supports..had no end of trouble killing them off when they decided to bud several months later still..

[Fleecewife]

We had to use willow stakes when we laid a section of hedge, as that's all we had.  Most of them had been put in the sheep field for a few days before we used them, so the bark was stripped off and they didn't sprout, but we needed a few extra so just cut fresh and put them in upside down.   They sprouted in no time and now we have willow in the hedge, which we didn't want 

[hughesy]

The cutting will take root if you plant them now but they won't do as well as ones planted late winter/early spring. I've found the best time to plant them is just when the buds on the willow trees are starting to swell. March or early april depending on the weather.

[katie]

Put them in a bucket of water for a week or two until there are lots of roots. Pot them on into deep pots and leave the pots in a tray of water until there is a root system coming through the bottom of the pots. Plant out and water well until established.

[Creagan]

Cheers, looks like they should work OK
Final question- whilst cuttings planted right now won't grow as vigorously as ones planted in the spring, would I be right in thinking that there's no overall benefit to waiting till then? Even if they only grow a little bit, it's still a head start over the ones I will plant next year.

[doganjo]

I planted willow at this time of year in 2011 and they are 12 feet high now - must get them trimmed.  I stuck tehm in teh ground and left them to it.

[hughesy]

I've also found that they do better if planted in either deep containers filled with compost (pop bottles with the top cut off are great), or into well prepared soil. Just sticking them into unprepared ground will result in growing trees but they will be much less vigorous. I've tested this and the difference is quite marked.

[doganjo]

How vigorous do you mean? 

[hughesy]

I mean in the first season's growth the ones planted in good soil/compost will grow about twice that of ones planted in unprepared soil. In subsequent years the trees cut back hard will also massively outgrow those that are not cut.

[HesterF]

Get them in! In contrast to everybody else, I have had complete dismal failure with mine. We had our willow pollarded last autumn and I kept some back to make 'structures' from. After I'd faffed around for a couple of months and they'd been buried in snow for a while, not one of them showed any sign of life after planting (which was a pity because I was quite proud of my creations!).

H

[doganjo]

I mean in the first season's growth the ones planted in good soil/compost will grow about twice that of ones planted in unprepared soil. In subsequent years the trees cut back hard will also massively outgrow those that are not cut.

These are two years old.  I planted one in a tub and the rest out in the front paddock.  The one in the tub is tiny - these have never been cut.  I'm not sure you can generalise to that extent.

[hughesy]

No, you're right I can't generalise. I'm only speaking from my own experience with willow over the last few years. A lot will depend on your local soil conditions and moisture levels etc. I've done a bit of experimenting over the last few years and what I've said above is true in my case.

[doganjo]

I've got a very wet clay based soil, is that maybe why they seem to do better than in the tub which is shop bought compost?