How to grow and care for willow

Flanking our waterways in great mops of silver green, the willow is the most poetic and mysterious of trees. In many cultures – including ancient Egypt and ancient Greece – it was associated with immortality, death, and the underworld; old English folklore states that if you sit beside a willow and shed tears, the tree will cry with you. In China, where the weeping willow hails from, it represents strength and resilience, reflecting the instruction in the Tao Te Ching to have a flexible attitude: 'A tree that won't bend, breaks easily in storms.' Being pliant and strong, willow is used for weaving, and its light weight and hardness make it the best wood for cricket bats.

If your garden soil is moist, willows are must-have plants that keep you company all year. There is a wide range of sizes and forms that offer interest in different seasons, having ornamental winter bark, shimmering silver leaves in summer, or fluffy catkins that hum with hungry bees early in the year when nectar is thin on the ground.

Which willows to grow for shape

At the word willow, most of us think of the arching giants that pour over lakes and rivers and resemble great heads of green hair when their long, slender branches sway on the breeze. If you have a large garden with water in it, plant graceful Salix babylonica (weeping willow) or Salix x sepulcralis var. chrysocoma (golden weeping willow). There are compact weeping willows for sale – which are often sold as standards – but they can look a bit twee.

Some willows grow in weird and wonderful contorted shapes that look great in winter. S. x sepulcralis 'Erythroflexuosa' is one of the best for small to medium gardens; in full sun, its bare curly stems takes on fox-red and golden tints.

Which willows to grow for wildlife

The yellow catkins of our native goat willow (or pussy willow), Salix caprea, provide bees with hoards of nectar in late winter and early spring, when little else is in bloom; it's also an important plant for the caterpillars of the beautiful purple emperor butterfly. However, it is too big for most gardens. Much more compact are S. gracilistyla 'Mount Aso', which bears fluffy pink catkins, and 'Melanostachys', for striking black catkins. If you want a willow hedge for bees, downy grey-green Salix candida is ideal, being covered in a mass of golden catkins in spring.

Which willows to grow for winter colour

Many willows brighten the frosty garden with colourful stems. Salix alba var. vitellina 'Yelverton' glows caramel and red when planted in open sunshine, and ghostly Salix irrorata has bare purple-blue stems coated with white bloom, followed by catkins.

Which willows to grow for foliage

Some willows have silver leaves that catch the light in spring and summer. Three of the most desirable are the elegant long-leaved coyote willow, Salix exigua; stylish red-stemmed S. purpurea 'Nancy Saunders'; and compact S. hastata 'Wehrhahnii'. All of them have handsome catkins that feed bees.

Which willows to grow for living structures

Being vigorous and pliant, willow can be used to create a 'fedge' (the love child of a fence and a hedge) or a green structure, such as an archway or play den. Order willow rods from a specialist supplier (such as West Wales Willows or World of Willow). Consider the rod length before buying: shorter for a fedge, longer for a den. For an easy life, purchase a ready-prepared pack for a specific structure, such as a wigwam or a dome and tunnel.

How to plant willow

The ideal site is sunny with deep, fertile, moist soil. The vigorous roots of willow are excellent for stablising riverbanks, but should be situated well away from buildings and drains! If your soil is not damp, fork in organic matter (such as compost) to boost water retention.

How to plant a willow structure

Plant as soon as possible after the cuttings arrive. Plunge each stem (with buds pointing upwards) into the ground, leaving around 10 centimetres above the surface (if growing a fedge). If the ground is hard, use a chopstick or similar to create a hole beforehand. How closely you plant them together does not matter and depends on the kind of structure you are creating.

How to grow willow

Moisture: willows relish a moisture-retentive or damp soil and therefore love growing beside water.

Light: the majority of willows, including the big weeping trees, demand full sun, and those that have decorative stems in winter will develop the best colours in full sun. However, a semi-shade position can be favourable in soils that aren't damp.

Pruning: many garden willows (such as Salix alba 'Golden Ness') can be kept compact through regular pruning in late winter or early spring. You could use the traditional method of pollarding them back to a single stumpy trunk or cut them back hard to a gaggle of stems, as you would do to a buddleja. If space isn't an issue or it's a compact form, the prune could be done every 2 to 3 years, in order to boost the number of catkins.