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Ideas for Structures using Cuttings

Because willow grows so

quickly - the Salix Viminalis 'Bowles Hybrid' short cuttings can provide 3 or 4 whips of 8 or 9 (or more) feet long in

one season - you might like to

'grow your own' structure !

You could either plant the cuttings

in one place and simply cut the whips

and plant them where they are wanted

in winter - and the cuttings will give

you more whips the next year . . .

and the next . . . . !

OR you could plant the cuttings

where they are wanted, for example, as the perimeter of a circle for a dome/playhouse, or in two rows to make a tunnel.

It will take a year longer to create a structure - but it will cost less and you might prefer the idea of a less formally planted structure.

We have not actually created this type of structure ourselves before

- because we have plenty of long whips whenever we want to make something -

but we thought that we would try some this year (2005) in our 'experimental patch' as several people ordering cuttings said that they were planning this sort of project,

For a small child's den we have planted 18 x 10 inch cuttings of

Salix Viminalis 'Bowles Hybrid' in a circle of about 5 feet in diameter at about 9 inch spacing, leaving a gap of about 3 feet for an opening.

We planted in January, and the photograph below shows growth in early May.

We have also planted cuttings to create another dome/playhouse.

This one is a mix of 10 inch and 3 ft long cuttings alternated - the idea

being that the whips growing from the longer cuttings will provide the main structure and those from the short cuttings will be woven in lower down to make

the structure more enclosed - there are 10 x long cuttings and 9 x short cuttings, planted in a circle with about a 6 ft diameter. We are sure that this technique

should provide whips on the cuttings that are long enough to create a wider structure - but it's an experiment - we will see what happens

and let you know . . . . . .

This shows the

growth in early May on a mix of long and short cuttings for a dome/playhouse . . .

. . . and below, at the start of November before leaf fall !

ALSO :

Ideas For Fedges

Ideas for Structures using Cuttings

Ideas for 'Sculptures'

Each 10 inch cutting

has grown 2 to 4 whips.

1 or 2 are 9 ft long, the others about 6 ft long - more than long enough to make this den. During the winter we will bend some of the longest whips over to make a simple structural frame and the shorter ones will be woven in around the sides - and there will probably be spares to make something else !

We will show you those photographs when we have done it.

The growth is such that a bigger

den could have been created if the cuttings were planted in a circle of a bigger diameter - and that is planting on average soil with no supplemental watering during the summer dry spells !

We have also planted 12 long cuttings to create an archway.

6 either side of a 6 ft wide path and about 1 ft between cuttings

We will show you the photographs when it is completed - but again the growth is more than sufficient to achieve the required size.

The cuttings have grown whips

of similar lengths as for the smaller dome above, but there are up to 6 whips off each of the longer cuttings, and of course they start at least 2 ft higher up ! - again more than long enough to make this den. !

We will show you the

photographs when we have woven

this structure together.

LIVING WILLOW

Offering willow grown in Northamptonshire.
From Willows Nursery, Walgrave, Northampton, NN6 9QA.

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