Willows grow almost universally over the humid parts of the temperate zones and, generally speaking, are held in little esteem by the average person. Yet, in their way, they are indispensable in the landscape scheme.
They are especially picturesque when spreading gracefully over a body of water. In the earliest spring their bark suddenly brightens, in the golden-barked sorts, and then before long, they are wreathed in tender green leaves and yellowish catkins.
Weeping Willow Not For Small Yards
Not a tree for the small yard, the weeping willow, especially the golden-barked variety, is splendid along streams or in large estates or parks. As it is very brittle, the ground under it is strewn with small branches each spring, and every heavy windstorm during the growing season is liable to break its branches considerably.
Soil Binders
It is in the role of soil-binders along shore lines of lakes and streams that willows have their greatest economic value. Large limbs often are cut off (either in the fall or preferably in the earliest spring) and stuck in the ground near streams where the water is causing serious erosion of the banks.
All willows root easily from cuttings, large or small. Small branches are often broken with oil and carried by wind, and water to other locations, where they root promptly if covered with a modicum of soil.
Sometimes starting them by the method first mentioned is not feasible and another method must be used. If close to the shoreline of bodies of water, willow branches likely to be inundated should be cut in relatively short lengths and completely buried in the soil — shallow in heavy soils or deep as a foot in light soils.
The reason for this is that sandy soils wash away easily and also have a greater tendency to dry out, thus harming the buried cuttings. It is best to put in several rows, a couple of feet apart, staggering the cuttings just as you would break joints in a brick wall.
Planted this way, they root the whole length of the buried sections instead of just at the base as in ordinary cuttings. Consequently, this helps to bind the soil, and many shoots start-up to the surface, making an impenetrable barrier to erosion.
High Water Season
In seasons of exceptionally high water, the cuttings may be shorn off by ice, but this does not kill them, for they grow again from the roots. When they develop into big trees, the elements cannot destroy them. In addition to being fast-growing, willow roots make a solid mat of roots in a radius of two or three tunes the spread of the tops.
While this is desirable under some conditions, it precludes their use in the average home grounds, except for the festive dwarfs of varying sizes, some of which come from the far northern regions.
The records of soil conservation projects hold innumerable examples of where the use of willows has made it unnecessary to resort to the costly and often inadequate methods generally used to prevent soil erosion. So, if you have willows along streams and ponds, think twice before you destroy them!
44659 by Chester D. Wedrick