Weeping willow propagation.

last year

I am trying to propagate weeping willows from cuttings. So far I've had them in a bucket of water for 2 weeks and they have a nice amount of roots growing. My question is how long can I keep them in this water? I want to plant them in upstate New York and there is already freezing temperatures. Can they be planted in the winter? If I have to wait till spring do I keep them in the water until then? TYIA!!

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Comments (13)

cecily 7A
last year
Do you have an unheated garage or basement?
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
Yes, my garage is not heated.

Right now they are in my dining room in a bucket of water.
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I would have dipped the distal end in wax or coated it with cut paste and put it in the fridge in damp sand or Turface until all the trees were dormant. Then, I would have buried it in the garden or beds. In spring, after the frost is out of the ground, I would have dug it up and either potted or planted it. Your tree will push foliage now, but it won't get mature enough to offer a return on the trees energy outlay, so the tree will wake up in spring with much lower energy reserves than if you had held off on rooting it. That may not be a big problem, because there are few trees with more genetic vigor than a willow, but it's not just vigor that comes into play. Vitality is also a key issue. I probably would have rooted it in bonsai soil, too. Here is something I wrote about rooting in water vs rooting in a solid, well-aerated medium. Again though, the trees natural level of vigor may sail in to save the day: Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like or highly aerated medium (perlite - screened Turface - calcined DE - seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these roots to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher percentage of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of inter-cellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). Aerenchyma tissue is filled with airy compartments. It usually forms in already rooted plants as a result of highly selective cell death and dissolution in the root cortex in response to hypoxic (airless - low O2 levels) conditions in the rhizosphere (root zone). There are 2 types of aerenchymous tissue. One type is formed by cell differentiation and subsequent collapse, and the other type is formed by cell separation without collapse ( as in water-rooted plants). In both cases, the long continuous air spaces allow diffusion of oxygen (and probably ethylene) from shoots to roots that would normally be unavailable to plants with roots growing in hypoxic media. In fresh cuttings placed in water, aerenchymous tissue forms due to the same hypoxic conditions w/o cell death & dissolution. Note too, that under hypoxic conditions, ethylene is necessary for aerenchyma to form. This parallels the fact that low oxygen concentrations, as found in water rooting, generally stimulate trees and other plants to produce ethylene. For a long while it was believed that high levels of ethylene stimulate adventitious root formation, but lots of recent research proves the reverse to be true. Under hypoxic conditions, like submergence in water, ethylene actually slows down adventitious root formation and elongation. If you wish to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably best not to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The brittle "water-formedâ roots often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption and often die. The effect is equivalent to beginning the cutting process over again with a cutting in which vitality has likely been reduced. If you do a side by side comparison of cuttings rooted in water & cuttings rooted in soil, the cuttings in soil will always (for an extremely high percentage of plants) have a leg up in development on those moved from water to a soil medium for the reasons outlined above. Al
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Well, since the weeping willow part is grafted onto a straight stem of another willow at that short height, it might or it might not grow any higher. I am not sure what species (probably Kilmarnock willow, Salix caprea 'Pendula') was used for the weeping pussy - if its natural growth pattern is totally prostrate, then it won't grow a leader at some point and get any higher on its own. If it does grow a natural leader at some point, then it might, after a few years, get taller. Until then, it might also be a tangled mass of branches, and will need to be kept pruned and tidied. One thing you might try to do is to drive in a tall and sturdy stake next to it (it will have to last for several years), then select one of the stronger branches and tie it up to the stake, making as straight a continuation of the trunk as you can - this may have to be done over a month or so, so as not to break the selected branch. Keep inspecting the ties to be sure they aren't too tight. Eventually, the branch will be strong enough to stand on its own, and you can remove the ties and the stake, when it is at the height you want. Make sure you rub off any sprouts coming from the stem below the graft - it probably won't be a pussy willow. As the pussy grows, you can trim off the lower branches, over the years, until you have the size and shape you want. It's my understanding that these small pussy willows are grown to be spring-time "novelties", rather like buying a pot of flowering bulbs or a florist's azalea or cyclamen - once it stops being "pretty", it gets thrown away. Kudoes to you for trying to grow it, but it may not be easy. If you WANT to keep it at the height/size it is now, approximately, then prune it back very short (2") once the pussies are gone, and treat it like a topiary/standard - in an artificial shape that you maintain. If you have the room, you can let the branches run where they will, and have it more like a ground cover - it may well root where the branches touch the ground.
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cecily 7A
last year
You could pot them up and keep them in the garage (against the wall on the side of the house if the garage is connected to the house).

If I were you, I'd throw those cuttings out and start fresh in spring now that you know how quickly & easily willow roots.
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
That would be ideal but these were taken from a tree that has sentimental value that is now cut down so I really want these to make it.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
Take tree. Plant tree in ground. Walk away.

Got that?
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
So straight from a bucket of water in my dining room to the ground upstateupstate? Seems to easy 😂
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
last modified: last year
It's probably the best bet right now.

It's still warm, and not getting cold soon, so it has time to acclimate to outside. There is a difference between water roots and soil roots, but hopefully willows can make the transition easily. Less adaptable plants can take ages to make that transition, so water rooting isn't advised. We are just going to skate over that part. I'll just say that if they were potted, there would be more choices. We are also going to just skate over exactly what you mean by 'weeping willow'. From what I've read, Salix x babylonica isn't hardy where I am, and I don't see them. What I see as weeping willows is really Salix alba. I am assuming these cuttings are going to be planted near where the parent plant thrived.
Speaking of the parent plant, there is a big difference between cutting down a willow and killing it. I can think of at least three Salix albas which were pruned down to about six inches a few years ago, and are now about 50 ft tall.

ETA: I should have asked in my first post, what is your definition of 'upstate'? When my daughter was at college, she asked five different New Yorkers what, exactly, was 'upstate', and she got five different answers.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
please provide your source with links.. indicating that dormant plants in winter will root freeely ... in pots while dormant ... to me this seems entirely wrong seasoned ..

will roots vvery frrely when the tree is actively growing.. just cut 6 to 8i inch budded stinks.. and jam them in pots in spring.. and by fall you ought to have a good percent for planting.. same with poplar ...

there seems no real reason to do it in winter ..

have you referenced dirrs manual on propagation of woody plants??? .. maybe your library has a copy ... its is the topic bible ... if you are relying on random websites.. good luck with that ...

trees are not houseplants.. get them out of the house immediately .... you dont mention where you are.. big city name.. so i have no idea whats possible outdoors ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=dirrs+manual+on+propagation+of+woody+plants&ia=web
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
I live on Long Island in Bellmore which is in Nassau county New York, i plan on planting them in Deleware county new york, near oneonta.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
yikes.. now i see the sentimental part now ...

how many do you have.. i would shotgun the approach ...

put a couple in a pot with moist media.. and put in the cold side of the garage ..

put a few in mother earth.. and protect them from vermin ... full shade .. and even better if they get covered with snow ...

and i would put a couple in a pot and put it against the north side of the house.. same with snow.. and if the is not eave.. tip the pot on the side..in late winter.. so winter thaw and early rain.. doesnt accumulate in the pots ...

will nest to poplar and forsythia should root very easily ... so i wish you luck ... we really do want them to stay dormant.. so get them out of the house.. asap ... everything will happen in spring..

ken
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
I have about 10.

One more option would be to stick them in the ground in my now empty vegetable garden and then dig them up and transplant in the spring, i have no idea if this is a good idea or horrible idea.

Other wise I will stick with your other suggestions and hope one works.

Thanks for your help, this was a rush job due to sentimental value.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
the veg garden is fine ... just protect from rabbits .. or mice ... an upside down cardboard box with a couple stakes to hold it in place.. keeps away most vermin.. open at the top is fine ... we just want a barrier.. not a tomb.. it will also reduce winter winds.. which are horrible to sticks with no roots ... and thats why snow cover is great also ...no wind ...

do understand.... yo better have a few acres for a willow tree.. they really arent suburban backyard trees .. think park or golf course.. not half acre lot .... you might be further ahead.. in tree time.. if you lose this ....

ken
Theresa Tuccitto
Original Author
last year
These will be planted on many acres around a pond that is about an acre, the "parent tree" is from a property next door it was also planted around a pond.

My property at home with my vegetable garden is not big but hopefully big enough to hold the cuttings until spring.

Weeping willow propagation.

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Weeping willow propagation.

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cecily 7A

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