Which trees can willow be grafted with, and how much does a sapling cost?

Willows are mainly native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, and because of their graceful shape they are often planted as landscape and street trees. So do you know which trees willow can be grafted with? How much does a sapling cost?

Which trees can willow be grafted with?

Willow can be grafted with golden willow, weeping willow, bamboo willow and other willows of the same family and genus. Spring or autumn is the best time for grafting. In addition, willow grafting is mostly done to prevent catkins from causing inconvenience to people's daily life and travel. The specific method is to cut off part of the crown of female willows that produce catkins, and graft onto them branches of male golden weeping willow that do not produce catkins. This is equivalent to performing a “sex change operation” on the willow, and after grafting the willow will never produce catkins again. Since this is a purely natural grafting “operation”, it does no harm to the tree, and it takes only two to three years for the willow to spread its crown again and return to normal. However, this can only be done on willows with many forks.

Willows are generally propagated by sowing, cuttings and hole planting.

1. Sowing

For seedling raising by sowing, seeds are collected in April and sown immediately after collection. The thousand-grain weight of the seeds is 0.4 grams, the germination rate is 70-80%, and about 0.25 kg is sown per mu. In the same year the seedlings reach 80-100 cm in height. Transplanting should be done after leaf fall in winter and before the buds sprout in early spring of the following year. After planting, water thoroughly and set up a support stake.

2. Cuttings

Cuttings are taken in early spring. Select superior plants with fast growth and few pests and diseases as mother trees for cutting collection, and before bud break cut 2-3 year old branches into 15-17 cm lengths as cuttings. The spacing between plants and rows for cuttings is 20×30 cm, inserted vertically, and watered thoroughly after insertion.

3. Hole planting

Select suitable seedlings, trim the root system first, and then plant them immediately.

How much does a willow sapling cost?

Different varieties, specifications, purchase quantities and places of origin all cause differences in the price of willow saplings.

1. In Pukou District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, weeping willows with a diameter at breast height of 14-16 cm cost 450.00 yuan each, with a minimum order of 50 trees.

2. In Taiping District, Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, golden willows 4 m-5 m tall cost 25 yuan each, with a minimum order of 3000 trees.

3. In Boye County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, dryland willows 4 m-5 m tall cost 60-280 yuan each.

4. The table below is a reference price list for some weeping willow seedlings from the Suqian nursery base in Jiangsu:

Generally speaking, grafting is done by choosing tree species with a “genetic relationship”, and the same is true for willow.