Description
Salix purpurea
Hardy deciduous multi-stemmed shrub from 2-5 m tall with slender blue-green leaves. Excellent for basketry and weaving, in which case the plants should be cut to the ground each year in order to provide pliable stems the following year. They also produce a huge amount of biomass which can be ‘chopped and dropped’ throughout the season, or put through a wood chipper, in a forest garden or syntropic food forest situation to provide carbon material and mulch for soil improvement in the form of ramial wood chip (RWC).
Willows also have medicinal uses (the source of aspirin), and are a useful component of wastewater treatment systems, soil stabilisation and phytoremediation schemes , as the plants are said to take up heavy metals and other toxic substances. Willow branches can also be chopped and soaked in water for 24 hours to make a rooting hormone for cuttings. Willows provide excellent bee food in early spring for rearing brood. Requires a sunny spot and moist soils, and will tolerate very wet soils and periodic flooding. Do not plant near buildings or drains as roots can be invasive.
PB3/4. Certified organic potted plant – please note we do not sell cuttings.