• Excellent for windbreaks, screens, hedges & coppice
• Good for damp areas
• Can be woven to create hedges and structures
• Can be hard pruned
• Fast growing
 
This product has minimum order quantities dependent upon size.
 
Description
Our Hybrid Willows will reach 6-7m (20-24ft) in height after 3 to 4 growing seasons making them excellent for windbreaks, screens and hedges (both woven & unwoven). They are often used for coppice fuel, log and game cover. They are one of the earliest plants to provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects making them a great wildlife choice. 
 
Hybrid willow is often used to stabilise river banks and improve landscapes and provides excellent fodder for various livestock. It is also often used for short rotation coppice planting as it will grow and regenerate fast giving a good crop within 3-5 years – although the willow cuttings are generally more suitable for planting for this purpose.
 
Although deciduous, the willow makes a great screening plant due to its dense foliage in Spring and Summer and the abundance of branches which still provide great cover even after the leaf loss in Winter. They are also early to come into leaf in spring, often as early as April.
 
Which size to choose?
1 year plants – a good starting size and easy to plant. With a basic root, these are a step up from our willow cuttings. In order to achieve a bushy screen, you will need to prune these back hard after planting to around 40-60cm in order to encourage growth at this level.
 
2 year plants – a thicker main stem and more developed root. These are usually cut back to around 180-240cm before dispatch. These can be left to grow up as trees or cut back to encourage more stem development lower down the plant.
 
3 year Multi stem plants – these have been pruned hard in their first two growing seasons to encourage a more bushy form. They have a more mature root than the younger plants and will give a good screen from an early stage. 
 
Planting Information
Suitable for any well drained soil, any aspect, sheltered or exposed sites. Happy in sunny areas or partial shade. Willows are known for being good for particularly damp ground, although not if it is continually water-logged. 
 
These plants are usually provided as bare root only and are available for planting at any time between early November and mid-May.
 
For Planting Advice, please see our Guide.
 
Attributes
Narrow spear-shaped leaves which are greenish-yellow in spring, turning yellow in Autumn and dropping in Winter. Slender greenish catkins in spring provide an important source of early nectar and pollen for bees and other insects, whilst the branches make good nesting and roosting sites for birds.
 
Further information about the parentage of our hybrid willow can be found here.
 
Size
Height and spread after 10 years : 9m x 3m
 
Further information on rooted or unrooted plants can be found here.