Cleaning out the basket willow.

 Today I began to clean out the basket willow I grew in the past to use as ribs in my rib baskets. The first step was to cut the six to eight foot "whips" that had grown on the willow stools since I last cut them down last year. I am retiring from basket-making, so will not be harvesting the willow again. The willow "stools", such as the one shown above remained after the whips were removed. Then, using a spade and an adze, I dug around each stool, and hacked away at the roots.

Three of the four remaining willow stools were removed in this laborious process. They await by the curb side to be picked up with other green materials on Thursday's pick up. The bundles of whips are also tied and ready for pick-up too.  I will remove the last of the stools tomorrow.

Propagating willow is very easy. From a selected shrub, cut off willow whips (branches). Cut pencil thick foot-long sections of the branches, bury them about half the length of the cutting by forcing them into the ground. Most of the cutting will self-root.  In the spring cut the shoots from the cuttings to just above ground level. More shoots will develop, and six to eight foot whips will grow by the end of fall. Cut them back again, and double the amount of shoots and whips will grow back. Repeat yearly and stools such as shown above will develop with a heavy crop of whips for annual harvesting.

If you harvest the whips in the fall, the bark will not be removable. You can use these as "brown" willow for your baskets. If you harvest the willow in the spring-time, after the first flush of leaves appear, you can then use the whips as "white" willow. At this time it is very easy to remove the bark to reveal the white flesh beneath.

If you do not harvest the willow on an annual basis, huge willow trees will develop very rapidly.

One further use for the willow is in propagating other plants. Place willow cuttings in a bucket of water along with other cuttings from shrubs you wish to cultivate. Willow will add natural rooting compounds  to the water in the bucket, and can stimulate root formation in the cuttings from these shrubs.

It's time to strip the willow again.

 Stripping willow is easy at this time of year. The willows have their first flush of leaves. That is the signal that the bark can be easily removed to reveal the white flesh beneath. Here, one willow whip is shown with part of its bark removed.

 Surrounded by tulips and daffodils, the stool of a willow is all that remains after I cut down the willow branches that sprouted from it. Next spring, this stool will once again be a mass of willow whips perhaps eight or nine feet tall.

 Two remaining willow shrubs show that first flush of leaves. These will be cut down to form a stool as in the previous photo. The leaves are then removed by sliding my hand down the whip.

 This willow was not cut down annually. Without that annual cutting, the willows grow very quickly. This willow is somewhere between five and ten years old.

 On the left is the stripped willow. On the right are whips ready to be stripped. Longer pieces of the stripped bark, in the container in the centre, will become weavers for rib baskets. The remainder will be added to my compost.

The dead and unusable willow is at the curb waiting to be picked up by the City as green waste.

Waiting for the willow to leaf out

A week ago, I cut three willow branches and brought them into the house and placed them in water. As you can see, leaves are now appearing. In a few days, when the leaves are fully out, these willow whips will be ready for stripping. Outside, this process is much slower. I am somewhat impatient as I want to begin stripping the willow to produce the beautiful while willow whips I use in making rib basket ribs. I have the grapevine hoops ready from last Fall's crop as well as flat rattan cane and seagrass ready as weavers. It will be a couple of weeks or more before I can begin. Come on, spring.

Preparing "brown" willow.

As Fall approaches, I am beginning to work on the willow at the front of my side garden. Two years ago, I cut these willow shrubs to just above ground level. Anne wanted them to form a hedge or barrier for privacy, so I did not cut them down to ground level again this spring. Instead, I let them grow. Lately, I have begun to harvest from this two-year growth. As you can see, I cut the willow down to waist level from its 8 -12 foot height. the willow on the left is as yet uncut and shows its two-year height.

Here are the remains of the cut willow that proved to be unusable for my basket-making. Most of these branches were too short or had too many branches off the main stem to be useful. I need long and straight "whips" for my basket ribs. I bundled up these waste products and put them at the curb for the green box compost recycling.



For the usable willow whips, I stripped each of its leaves. The green bin was a helpful collection container for these.







The end product after an hour or more of work: "brown" willow. These are now in my storage room where they will dry over the next weeks and months and lose their green colour. I will soak them in water before I can use them in my rib baskets.

The term "brown" willow refers to any willow, whatever its colour, that is harvested and used with its bark still on. "White" willow is willow harvested in the spring, stripped of its bark to reveal its white flesh beneath. "Buff" willow is willow boiled for 8 - 10 hours with its bark on. Its bark is then removed to reveal a beautiful buff colour .