Where it wishes. It is a "weed" that will pop up unbidden here. Research via google if it grows where you are. The link below may help. When researching herbs it is crucial to research using the botanical as opposed to the common names to avoid confusion which could be disastrous! FataMorgana Here is a link that might be useful: plants.usda.gov

Why insist on chasing this butterfly when other well known rooting hormones that work are readily available? Malcolm Manners tried doing an experiment with willow water several years ago and IT DIDN'T WORK. See http://www.ars.org/About_Roses/propagating-cuttings.htm. I believe that his original article gave the preparation of the willow water extract. Most rooting products have IBA (indole butyric acid) and/or NAA (napthalene acetic acid). If you do try using willow water, at least do an experiment to confirm its efficacy (for one variety). Plant at least three dozen cuttings of similar size and condition. Separate them into three groups of 12. Each group should be separately treated with one of the following: (1) willow water (you should give the preparation details i.e. what wood, how much wood, amount of water, length of boiling time, etc.; (2) a known hormone (eg - hormodin II or some other one containing IBA and/or NAA); (3) and a final group using no treatment. That is a minimum of 36 cuttings of the same variety (three treatments), if possible. Without a controlled experiment, rooting a handful of cuttings is just another observation and you won't know whether the variety would have rooted without the willow water or better with a comercially available hormone. Let us know the outcome of your controlled experiment. I vaguely remember seeing an article on this in The ARS Rose Annual done many years ago. One of the 108,000 hits on google using willow water rose cuttings is http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/proprose.pdf. This article gives a recipe for getting the unknown rooting auxin (it may be IAA, another auxin) from willow and suggests that it is effective in controlled experiments but didn't say whether the experiment was with roses. Best.

I think you mean invasive :-) And neither is really considered an invasive species although both will have aggressively water seeking root systems. Plant far away from any septic system or underground sewer or water pipes.

' I know that tar which some spray on the wounds from cut limbs is not generally advised, but could it help to seal off the wildlife buffet? ' Just say no, the wood is dead already and tar or other sealant would just hold moisture inside causing further rot. Best leave things to Mother Nature. ;-) Pileated wood peckers are huge and can give the feeling of seeing a Pterodactyl swooping in for a meal. ;-) We had a box elder tree across the street where we watched the birds (pileated woodpeckers and other types) for years, work the dead spots, leaving multiple holes like the ones in your tree fraker. It was leaning toward the house there badly, so the owners finally removed it.