Planting Weeping Willows
Weeping willows are wide and tall with graceful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground.
I have several groves of weeping willow trees growing at my farm, one that includes more than 25 in a marshy area along one side of a hayfield. I decided to add more weeping willows in this location to create an allée leading to my pond. Unlike many other trees, weeping willows don't mind wet surroundings. In fact, they prefer "wet feet" - meaning they are wet-tolerant and can thrive in saturated soils. My outdoor grounds crew planted a group of weeping willows last week.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Anyone who drives by this hayfield at my farm can see these tall weeping willows along one edge. I planted most of them about 12 to 15 years ago.
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- Weeping willows are upright, fast-growing, deciduous trees that can grow up to 80-feet tall. Because of their massive root systems, they need a fair amount of room to grow. They also prefer wet feet and are often planted on the banks of streams and rivers to prevent erosion.
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- The water-loving trees have light, slender green, lance-shaped leaves. In the fall, the color ranges from light yellow-green to nearly blue depending on the variety.
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- I decided I wanted to create an allée in this same location. I purchased a group of willows to plant on the opposite side of a dirt road from the mature willows. These weeping willows will grow about three to four feet per year in optimal conditions and catch up to the size of the other trees in several years.
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- My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, measured the distance between two of the mature trees so they could duplicate the same distance between the newer ones. These are about 20-feet apart.
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- Using our trusted Kubota tractor, Chhiring transports one of the willows to its planting spot.
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- Each tree root ball is wrapped in burlap and a wire cage to keep it intact and easier to move.
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- Chhiring uses the backhoe to help dig holes for the willows. This area is still in the beginning stages of development, so the ground is still un-groomed.
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- Chhiring extends the tractor’s stabilizing feet in our maze to keep it well balanced and safe.
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- This backhoe has a maximum digging depth of about 14-feet. It saves so much labor and time during these projects.
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- When selecting a location for a tree, be sure to consider the size when the tree is mature. And place it far enough from any structures, so the branches do not touch anything. Alex finishes digging the hole. A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. A good rule of thumb is to dig the hole as deep as the root ball.
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- Alex then pours fertilizer in the hole, over the root ball, and the surrounding soil. Feeding plants and trees when they are newly transplanted helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
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- Using cutters, Alex removes the wire cage wrapped around the root ball.
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- Alex removes the burlap. Some leave the burlap on the root ball as it should disintegrate after time, but I prefer to remove it all, so the root ball is completely bare of any wrapping before it is planted.
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- Slowly the crew rotates the tree on its root ball until it is in the hole.
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- The backhoe drops an initial load of soil back into the hole to keep the tree in place while Alex holds it straight.
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- Alex and Phurba continue backfilling until the tree is secure in its new environment.
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- Alex also uses a hard rake to level and tidy the area.
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- This new allée of weeping willows will be groomed later, but the trees are healthy and should become well established in little time. Fortunately, all the trees were planted before the forecasted showers began.
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- Within the next few years, the younger weeping willows will stand out just as gracefully as these trees, creating a shaded allée leading to my refurbished pond.
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