Description
Salix purpurea
Reddish-purple stemmed willow forming a small shrub to approximately 3m. The blue-green, narrow foliage has silvery undersides adding to summer interest. If cultivating for basketry and weaving, 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 phyto-remediation 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 provides 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.
Freight: full list of freight and packing charges.
Main photo: Kahikatea Farm
Multi-stem foliage: commons.wikimedia.org