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So you'd like to weave a willow basket of your own or grow one of more varieties of salix in your own garden. It is becoming easier to locate these supplies and the information necessary to make your way into the world of weaving willow.

Early Spring is the time to plant willow cuttings if you plan to grow your own willow bed for basketry. Cuttings are made from dormant plants during the winter months when the sap is down and kept moist and chilled until planting. Vendors will ship the cuttings until about May 1st. Each cutting is made from established plantings. The cuttings are about 12 inches long with the butt end cut on the diagonal and the top end cut flush.

Willow grows best in fertile, well drained soil in full sunlight. The beds should be tilled, fertilized with compost or manure and raked smooth. Each cutting is pushed straight into the ground with the buds pointing up. Several buds should be allowed to remain above the soil level. No rooting hormone is necessary because willow contains a natural root stimulant. The plantings should be spaced about 6" apart with the rows spaced about 2-3 feet apart. Keep the plantings well weeded and irrigated throughout the growing season. A black plastic mulch or organic mulch is recommended to help keep the weeds under control.

After leaf fall the year old rods are cut right down to the ground or coppiced. Cuttings can be retained from this first harvest and used to replant to increase the number of plants in the bed. It will take several years for a bed to become established like these willow beds from Kathleen Lewis' site, but once it is you can harvest rods for years to come.

It is generally recommended to start with several of the hardier varieties such as Salix purpurea 187 and Salix purpurea Green Dicks. Later on, you can diversify and experiment with other colors and varieties. Once harvested the rods are graded for size and then dried. The rods are resoaked before weaving.

If you decide not to grow your own willow to make all your baskets you can order harvested rods from a selection of vendors. The rods are sold by color and length.

The colors of the material differs with the variety of the willow and the way it was processed.

• White willow has been peeled when fresh.
• Brown willow is dried with the bark left on, later soaked and used with the bark left on.
• Buff willow is a soft brown color derived by drying with the bark left on, boiled and the bark removed.
• Several varieties have colorful barks as shown on Bluestem Nursery's site.

Willow must be soaked before use. The length of time necessary for proper soaking varies depending on the variety and length of the rods. After soaking the rods should be covered and mellowed overnight before using.

I will leave you with a selection of other resources on basketry willows. Next time we will investigate where to learn willow basketry techniques.

Willow Basketry - An Introduction
Willow Basketry - The Basketmakers
Willow Basketry - The Baskets
Willow Basketry - Additional Resources

Previous Features

Willow Basketry Tools
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