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Home » Growing » How to Grow Weeping Pussy Willow from Cuttings.

How to Grow Weeping Pussy Willow from Cuttings.

Updated : February 9, 2020

24 Comments

Weeping Pussy Willow grown from a cutting.

This is one hot item that I never see available in Our Members Area, and usually just about every plant imaginable is available in our members are at deep wholesale prices. This is an item that would sell like crazy!

Weeping Pussy Willow

I picked up a Weeping Pussy Willow from a local wholesale growers a couple of years ago. Typically these trees are grafted onto another type of willow with a strong straight stem. But that takes time. First you have to grow out the tree that will be used as the root stock, then you have to bud or graft the weeping part on to that.

So I wondered how well they would do if I tried to grow them on their own roots. Suprisingly they were pretty easy to root as softwood cuttings, grew fast, but had to be staked. They have to be staked because the weeping part of this plant does not know how to grow upright. If they are not staked they would just lay on the ground and grow like a ground cover.

This is really more of a novelty item but they are fun to grow and it’s fun to train them in different ways.

Will they root as Hardwood Cuttings? I really don’t know. Most willows, especially Pussy Willows, are quite easy to grow as hardwood cuttings. But I don’t remember ever trying them that way. But I’d say it’s worth a try.

Weeping Pussy Willow loves full sun and being a willow should do fine in damp but not soggy area. Ironically, the one I had I planted on top of a bed that was pure sand and gravel and it did fine.

They do well in zones 4 through 8.

To See More Photos that I Posted at http://freeplants.com, click here.

Questions, comments, mean things to say? Post them below and I will respond.

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Comments

  1. Deirdre says

    April 8, 2022 at 8:33 pm

    I’ve been gifted a grafted weeping pussy willow and I’m trying to decide where on our property to play her. How far from a driveway would be a safe bet? I have other spots, but this would be my favorite spot to plant. I have a long wide bed of juniper that I’m looking to replace.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 9, 2022 at 8:17 am

      Deirdre,

      I’d say about 8′ from the driveway would be perfect.

      Reply
      • Deirdre says

        April 9, 2022 at 6:26 pm

        Great! Thanks.

        Reply
  2. Sunny says

    March 24, 2022 at 9:24 am

    Hi, I am not sure I understand the graph part. I have a willow just like the one in your picture. I want to make a few off of it. Usually, I would just cut and root a plant. Is this not the same? I am sorry for my ignorance. I want to learn the proper way to root it, so it has its best chance. Thank you for your time.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      March 25, 2022 at 7:50 am

      Sunny,

      Since the only thing that Weeping Pussy Willow knows how to do is weep, they are often grafted onto a willow root stock that is strong and ridged so you have a straight stem and weeping top. I have page on grafting on http://japanesemaplelovers.com/

      Reply
  3. Rayno says

    May 16, 2021 at 2:49 am

    Hi…
    Is it possible to graft curly willow onto a weeping willow? And follow up question.. Wil that tree grow past the curly willows ‘sell by date’ of 15 years?I live next to a dam in south africa and I rooted both trees in a natural spring fed stream… They’re both thriving in the water but winter is coming… Thanks.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      May 16, 2021 at 7:58 am

      Rayno,

      It probably is but since they root so easily not sure why you’d want to do that. Just stick cuttings in some moist soil in the shade and they should root. Better if you stick them at the end of winter before they leaf out.

      Reply
  4. James G. mcCue says

    April 7, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    I don’t have a comment, just the question. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. James G. McCue says

    April 7, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    Mike: I`m curious. If you take a cutting or air layer a bush that say has a life span of about fifteen years,
    and at the time of the cutting, the bush is nine years old, will the baby plant, being an exact duplicate
    of the parent , have only six years to live, or does it get to have the full life expectancy of the species?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 8, 2020 at 8:54 am

      James,

      No, I’m sure they young, tender cutting will live out it’s full life span of 15 years if that’s what’s normal for the plant. Of course most plants seem to live pretty forever.

      Reply
  6. Dan L. says

    April 7, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    I have a Corkscrew Willow and last year I trimmed off a few limbs to clean it up. It’s only about 12 ft tall. Young. Anyway I had a bucket with some water and fertilizer in it so I thought what the heck…put the cut limbs in it and see what happens. Well a few weeks later and just before winter I pulled those limbs out and they had massive roots! I planted them and they have new leaves on them now. I was amazed. Free Willow trees.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 8, 2020 at 8:56 am

      Dan,

      That works with willows but few other plants. I’ve seen growers stick willow cuttings in a bucket of potting soil, willow cuttings more than 1/2″ in diameter and 48″ long.

      Reply
  7. Bruce says

    April 7, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    Can’t believe those are in demand. We had a huge one in the yard where I grew up, probably 40’ tall. What a nasty messy tree! Constantly dropping branches, full of bugs and beetles. Nice to look at from a neighbor’s yard….

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 8, 2020 at 8:57 am

      Bruce,

      I don’t think a weeping pussy willow was 40 feet tall. They just don’t know how to grow upright, they have to be trained to get any height out of them at all. A regular pussy willow? Maybe, but even that seems tall, they typically grow as large shrubs.

      Reply
    • Suzy W says

      April 9, 2020 at 2:03 pm

      Bruce,
      Perhaps you’re recalling a weeping willow tree and not pussy willow.

      Reply
      • Mike says

        April 10, 2020 at 10:07 am

        Suzy,

        That’s what I thought as well.

        Reply
  8. Kat says

    April 7, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    I planted a pussy willow tree in my rental back yard in Virginia. I let the branches lay on the ground when I mulched in the spring. In the fall I wanted to cut back the branches on the ground. To my surprise 2 had roots. I gave away the cuttings & moved from the area so I don’t know what happened to the cuttings. The tree I planted was removed by the property owner.

    Reply
  9. Lucy Hahn says

    April 7, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    My back yard is very wet and has standing water with significant rainfall. I love curly willow and pussy willow and want to use them to hopefully utilize some of the water in my wet areas. Everything I find online says keep away from driveways, foundations and water lines but never a distance recommendation. I have an above ground septic system (sand mound) and the water lays a few feet behind it. Any guidance is appreciated.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 8, 2020 at 8:59 am

      Lucy,

      I for sure would keep any kind of tree, especially a willow tree, away from the septic system. How far away? Most trees and plants have roots that extend out to the edge of the drip line of the tree, but not much further than that. Around a septic system? I would allow a lot more distance than that.

      Reply
    • Cheri says

      April 25, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      I too am interested in a tree Lucy.

      Reply
  10. Becky Sewell says

    April 7, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    Hi Mike!
    I’m presently growing peach seedlings (not sure of variety) that won’t be grafted. I grew dozens of Suncrest peach seedlings in Colorado (where I first found out about YOU!). They grew like FIENDS and were blooming and producing peaches by their fourth or fifth year. The one I planted by the irrigation ditch had huge, beautiful peaches every year – but we sold the property the first year they bore, and i never got to taste any of them.
    I’m also growing a Japanese fantail willow (Salix sachalinensis) ‘Sekka’ from cuttings – VERY easy to grow that way, and they grow rapidly. Sadly, they don’t do well under black walnuts, which I have lots of, so this willow is growing in my mom’s garden, 3.5 miles away. It’s covered with catkins right now. Have you ever grown this willow? I’ll be taking a few cuttings this year and starting them in pots. Here are pictures: http://www.sierraflowerfinder.com/en/d/fantail-willow/6445
    This spring is proving to be very exciting – I have lots of different seeds planted last fall that should be sprouting any time now, including 206 germinated Japanese maple seeds I planted in boxes last Sunday, and lots of assorted cuttings that are now starting to leaf out. You have been quite the inspiration to me! I don’t have a big setup – strictly small-scale for now, but it’s keeping me busy, along with a lot of other major stuff – taking care of my elderly parents being the biggest one. I’m looking forward to every day, going out to check my plants to see what progress they’re making!
    Thanks Mike!
    Becky Sewell, Cayuga, NY

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 8, 2020 at 9:08 am

      Becky,

      I have not grown the Fantail Willow but it looks like it could be fun. When you have some I’d love to buy a few.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        March 16, 2021 at 3:26 pm

        I would love a cutting

        Reply
    • Anne says

      February 24, 2021 at 5:23 pm

      Im interested in buying some of your fantail willow cuttings. Will it be possible?

      Reply

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