Growing Poplar and Willow from Hardwood Cuttings

Collection

Poplar and willow cuttings should be collected from healthy trees while they are dormant in the late winter or early spring before the buds break. Cuttings should be taken from the ends ofthe branches (previous summers' growth) and could be anywhere from 7.5 cm to 1 metre long depending on the tree it was collected from and the conditions for growth that year. Cuttings should be made approximately 15 cm to 25 cm long and should include at least 4 or 5 buds. If the cuttings are taken in early winter, they must be stored in sealed plastic bags and placed in a snowbank on the north side of a building until they are planted in the spring. Another method is to store them in a cooler, at below freezing temperatures. The best method is to leave them on the tree until a week or so before they break bud; place them in a sealed plastic bag and keep them in the refrigerator at 5°C until the ground thaws and the cuttings can be planted.

Pre-planting Preparation

The area for planting should be very loose and worked deep so that the cuttings can be pushed into the soil vertically to their full depth. A well-worked garden plot is best. The cuttings seem to take root much quicker if they are soaked in water for3 days prior to planting to the soil. Do not leave them in water for more than3 days or small roots will form on the cuttings which will be ripped off when the cutting is pushed into the soil. When soaking the cuttings, be sure the cuttings are fully immersed in the water and are not floating on top. The best way to do this is to wrap a bundle of them with an elastic band and put a weight on top of the bundle.

Planting

The cuttings can now be planted into the garden plot. They should be pushed in straight up and down by hand so that the whole cutting is below ground and the top is just flush with the soil level. Be sure to plant the cuttings with the buds facing upward. Plant the cuttings about 30 cm apart so that they can be dug up and moved to a permanent location at a later date. They can be planted to their permanent location right away, but it is usually easier to look after them for the first year in a garden plot where they can be watered and kept free of weeds. Once the cuttings have been pushed into the soil, pack the soil firmly around the cuttings and water them immediately. They will need water whenever the soil gets dry, but do not overwater them. A water-logged soil has no aeration and the cuttings could die. Note: Do not plant cuttings into trifluralin treated soil.

Transplanting

The cuttings will form a great deal of roots in one year under ideal conditions and so if they have been planted temporarily in a garden plot, they must be moved after one growing season or it will be difficult to move without damaging a lot of the roots. Plan to transplant the rooted cuttings to their new location in the early spring before the seedling starts to grow.