The Latest Willow Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Willow is the collective name for many species of plants in the genus Salix of the family Salicaceae. It has a cultivation history of more than four thousand years in China, and is mainly used for ornamental planting in gardens, residential areas, parks, schools, factories, hillsides, courtyards, roadsides, in front of buildings and other places. The branches spread out in all four directions, filling the courtyard with strips of green, making it truly an ideal tree species for beautifying courtyards. Now let us take a look at the planting techniques for willow!
Willow Growth Habits
Willow belongs to a wide ecological amplitude plant, with broad adaptability to the environment. It is a light-loving, moisture-loving, cold-tolerant mesophytic to wet-loving tree species, but some species are also relatively drought-tolerant and salt-alkali-tolerant, able to grow in places with harsh ecological conditions, and growing even better on plains and fertile fields with superior site conditions. The general lifespan is 20 to 30 years, and a few species can reach over a hundred years. The annual growth period is relatively long, with early sprouting and late leaf fall, and a few species in the south are evergreen trees.
Willow Propagation Methods
Willow is commonly propagated by cuttings, which can maintain the fine characteristics of the mother tree. Cutting propagation is the main method, but sowing and seedling raising can also be used. Cuttings are taken in early spring. Select superior plants with fast growth and few pests and diseases as mother trees for cutting collection, cut 2 to 3 year old branches before budding, cut them into 15 to 17 cm long pieces as cuttings, and insert them vertically at a spacing of 20×30 cm. After insertion, water thoroughly, keep the soil moist at all times, remove buds and weeds promptly, and apply topdressing 3 to 4 times after rooting. Young seedlings are susceptible to damage by weevils, aphids and willow leaf beetles. For sowing and seedling raising, collect seeds in April and sow them as soon as they are collected. The thousand-grain weight of the seeds is 0.4 grams, the germination rate is 70 to 80%, about 0.25 kg is sown per mu, and the seedling height in the same year is 80 to 100 cm. Transplanting should be done from after leaf fall in winter to before buds sprout in early spring of the following year. After planting, water thoroughly and set up supports.
Willow Planting Techniques
1. After the planting stock arrives, prune the root system first, then plant immediately. Pruning must be scientific and reasonable, and the cut must be smooth. When the soil is relatively sticky and heavy, the planting hole should be no smaller than 80×80×60 cm. To reduce insect damage later, trichlorfon and similar medicines can be evenly scattered into the hole; when the willow absorbs water during growth, it takes in the medicinal components, achieving an insect-prevention effect.
2. Plant the willow into the tree pit. Do not plant too deep. Fill good soil all around the bag and press it firm.
3. After planting the willow, water once thoroughly immediately, filling the bag with water. After the water has all seeped down, water a second time right away. The second watering should also fill the entire tree pit, and straighten any fallen seedlings. Sometimes watering washes away the soil in the pit; if this happens, add more soil and press it firm with soil around the edges. Practice has proven that watering twice in a row at 15-day intervals can supply the seedlings' growth needs for four months. Extra-dry soil needs more frequent watering.
4. If the soil is saline-alkaline and dry, it is also necessary to make use of the high water absorption and high water retention characteristics of water-absorbent resin. Apply water-absorbent resin at the roots before planting the willow into the tree pit to achieve the purpose of keeping the roots moist and meeting the needs of growth and survival. Vegetative propagation is adopted, which grows fast and allows sex control, but after multiple generations of vegetative propagation, growth vigor declines and symptoms such as dead tips and premature aging are prone to occur.
5. Star longhorn beetles and glossy green longhorn beetles bore into and feed on branches and trunks, while large bagworms, slug moths, Li leaf beetles, willow leaf beetles, cicadas and others harm branches and leaves. Willow leaf beetles can be sprayed and killed during the damage period from April to June with 600 times trichlorfon or 1000 times phoxim. Slug moths, scarab beetles and others can be sprayed with abamectin or Senle 1500 to 2000 times solution or Bt 500 to 800 times solution. For longhorn beetle larvae, poison sticks can be inserted, or high-pressure spraying with 15% Chongxianqing 300 times solution can be used for control during the larval stage.