AusBonsai

Went out today after some willows. Went to a local patch on the side of the road about half hour away and got too work. Seeing as they are almost impossible not to grow from cuttings and the fact there were no small tree i was only chasing cuttings. Got 3 decent sized cuttings and a bunch of smaller ones. They are weeping and tortured willows.

i just got some (weeping)willow cuttings today, my parents brought them back for me since they were coming back from the country today(there's around 150kms with willows everywhere along the roadside on the way they were coming home)

i put some into a bucket of water hoping they'll grow roots in the water(although i'm going to go ahead and plant one tomorrow, since i heard they're very easy to grow)

i also left a small stem in the sunlight hoping the sun will open up the seed pouches


i'll update on any information in due time but good luck, willows are awesome trees

mb1029 wrote:
i also left a small stem in the sunlight hoping the sun will open up the seed pouches

Hi mb1029,

Weeping willows (Salix babylonica) don't produce viable seeds in australia. We only have female plants, no males to pollinate them.

Joel

I hope you guys know what you are up for. Willows are one of the most difficult trees to keep up with and turn into a presentable Bonsai.Have fun and learn how to make an Gravity water system for them as they need constant water and food. I mean all the time.

i have certainly had fun with willows in the past seems even if they dry out the slightest bit they either loose all their foliage and some branches or just die completely. I seem to be going alright sitting in a tray of water, topping it up twice daily

Joel,
I believe we do in fact now have both male and female willows since the hybrid willow was imported from NZ some years ago. I also get lots of pussy willow seedlings coming up in the pots and gravel trays here. Closest trees are probably 400m away.

Crack Willow, Salix fragilis; one of the commonest willows. Until very recently we thought that we only had male trees in Australia. Weeping Willow and Crack Willow can produce hybrids. One of these, sometimes called Salix x pendulina has been planted quite extensively. These new hybrids can produce fertile seeds by crossing among themselves or backcrossing to either parent. The progeny look like either Crack Willow, Weeping Willow or anything in between. This situation has developed at the junction of the Hawkesbury and Grose Rivers.

ref:http://www.aabr.org.au/index.php?option ... &Itemid=74

shibui wrote:Joel,
I believe we do in fact now have both male and female willows since the hybrid willow was imported from NZ some years ago. I also get lots of pussy willow seedlings coming up in the pots and gravel trays here. Closest trees are probably 400m away.

Crack Willow, Salix fragilis; one of the commonest willows. Until very recently we thought that we only had male trees in Australia. Weeping Willow and Crack Willow can produce hybrids. One of these, sometimes called Salix x pendulina has been planted quite extensively. These new hybrids can produce fertile seeds by crossing among themselves or backcrossing to either parent. The progeny look like either Crack Willow, Weeping Willow or anything in between. This situation has developed at the junction of the Hawkesbury and Grose Rivers.

ref:http://www.aabr.org.au/index.php?option ... &Itemid=74

Hi shibui,

I was unaware of this occurrence. DAMN! We managed to introduce another weed through such an obvious and foreseeable error. These things were weeds before they even produced seedlings. I wonder what their potential is now?

Thanks for the correction!

Joel