Hi. Yes. First cut is about 18 inches of the ground but then after that we are building out structure so it's not like the way we coppice our willows. The next cut is of the leaders slightly above the third cut and so forth. It's kind of like the KGB system for cherries where you have many leaders coming out of a short trunk except we would prune back down to the top of the structure every year after initial harvest. So mid-summer next year, all the mulberry trees/bushes you see here would be pruned back table-top flat in a way that we'd get 2 dozen leaders or more to grow out over the remainder of the summer. We're still learning so I hope that description makes sense! Happy friday! - Mark

Thanks so much!! I will add this to the comments. REALLY Appreciate your help! - Mark

Yes. They should. Willows are cold hardy. Unless you live in an extremely cold growing zone, rooted willows will overwinter in a pot no problem. But to get full growth to harvest branches you'll need to end up planting them in ground at some point. Hope this helps!

Yes. All willows will take root easily if they are given enough water. But even willows that can survive drier areas will need some water to get started. Here's a video that talks about how to start willows in a small pot: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rbV4mbWkqs-vm6s.html. Using this method may be easier if you want to get a willow started from a cutting in a drier climate. Hope this helps! - Mark

Hi. Right! Rams Horn is Salix babylonica 'Crispa'. Fantail is Salix udensis. Wintergreen is Salix miyabeana. We do grow natives as well, we have a bunch. We're up in the Pacific Northwest and we Pacific, MacKenzie, Sitka, Scoulers and some others I would have to research. We also grow some Cottonwood and Poplar in our willow bed including Black Cottonwood and Red-Twig Dogwood. - Mark

Hi. Right. Our next cutting sale will be this winter. Probably late December or early January. It’s not very vigorous but we should have some cuttings for sale. -Thanks! Mark

Hi. We are zone 8a too. While we only planted Rosemary Willow early this spring, I am confident that it will survive our winters here. None of the 100 or so other willows in our Willow Bed haven't made it through the winter. It's a beauty! - Mark

Hi. We like it too... currants and gooseberries are a new taste for us but we're learning to like them a lot.

Oh no! Nothing worse than that early morning patrol to pull them off the trees. Thankfully our summer got warm quickly and the mulberry trees grew faster than the slugs could eat them.

@@dingdongsgarden unfortunately lost 2 young trees before I realised!

Hi! You bet. I'm glad it is useful. I think I mentioned it but I was more grateful we had some definitive numbers than sad we lost so many trees. We have black Pakistan Mulberry trees from two different sources that have never fruited for us so I don't include them in any of the videos. They didn't die off this year, but they suffered. Most of them recovered with new growth. It makes me wonder if they're not fruiting because of temperature issues... not that it's too cold in the winter but that its too cool in our summers here.- Mark

Did they suffer moderate or severe damage? I have one I'm contemplating planting in 8a...S New Mexico...

@@Historynut73 I had six Pakistans in ground…. Three are growing now. The other three didn’t make it. But they may have actually died when slugs got at the new shoots coming from the roots that survived the winter growing from the ground. Hard to tell. Another important point is that this winter we reached the absolute bottom of zone 8A. It was an unusual winter. - Mark

So, were the mulberries in dormancy when the 10 degree weather hit in Jan.? ​@@dingdongsgarden

@Historynut73 Yes. Our mulberries go dormant in November and don't really wake up until late March.

Hi. The coppiced trunk will get a little larger every year. You could kill it like any tree by cutting it level to the ground and regularly removing any new growth over the next season or by covering it with something for the season so new branches can't come out of the ground. You can grow willow in containers, but it will never get large. Are you growing for decoration or for harvesting branches? - Mark

@@dingdongsgarden thanks! I am growing it for basketry.

Ah. OK. For basketry, you may want to go with in-ground. Production in pots can be really limited. Good luck!

@@dingdongsgarden thank-you for your quick response!

Hi. There's an older one I show in the video... we've been using that as a fruit tray on our counter. Or sometimes as a centerpiece on a table. I've also seen them used as wall hangings. They are pretty rustic, but the natural colors of different willow varieties really make up for it. Plus, quick and easy to make! - Mark

@@dingdongsgarden good ideas and yes they are very pretty and easy to make. Maybe a good project for school kids to get them introduced to weaving?

Hi. Not at this time. Our black Pakistans seem to survive the winter but no fruit yet and we don’t sell cuttings on any varieties until we can confirm/show what fruit it offers. Gonna keep trying though. I would like to try it! -Mark

That’s great. It took a few years for us but then wham!! Tons of fruit. Totally worth the wait.

You’re right. Most people propagate dormant cuttings in the winter but since willows will easily root and grow just about any time of year, I think some just enjoy it and are eager to start something new. I know I still get a kick out of putting a stick in soil and watching it take root and grow. -Mark

Hi. Yes, the three lobes on the Oscar is my experience but leaves can be variable. How’s the fruit on the tree you thought was Oscar? -Mark

They do grow big! But we hope to control the height and shape by pruning severely and promoting as many leaders as possible in the early summer after harvest. Do you prune your mulberry trees back or just let them grow naturally?

Exactly. It feels strange to create these hot and humid spaces when temperatures in much of the U.S. are already there. Depending on how this goes, we may put up another hoophouse and delay covering it by a couple of weeks to see if we can spread out harvest time. If so, I have a Pawpaw tree in a pot we might sneak in... I think Pawpaws are heat-lovers as well. I hope your heat wave doesn't last much longer. Stay safe! - Mark

Hi. I don't have any direct experience with White Pakistan fruiting (ours didn't make it through the winter here). But it might be one of those mulberries that is shy about fruiting. Sometimes those shy mulberries have no fruit on the trunk, no fruit after rooting, or no fruit after pruning during mid season. Everything varies by climate condition and people might have different experiences but it might take a year or two to fruit. Good luck and I hope this helps! - Mark

@@dingdongsgarden Thanks!

Hi. Yes. We sell cuttings every winter during the dormant season on our store website. Our Shangri La trees took some damage last year but they are recovering so we should have cuttings to sell this winter. Thanks, Mark

Hi. This is a great question. I put together my thoughts on a short here... kzfaq.infoKYC-zAnGzg8. One thing I didn't mention is that you'll want to coppice (or prune) the willow back to the ground every year so that the foliage or basketry rods are within reach and of higher quality. Hope this helps! - Mark

@@dingdongsgarden thank you..

I apologize but I don't have experience growing in 9b. I always hate to offer advice when I don't have direct experience. For sure it grows in our zone 8A but my understanding is they don't do really well in hot environments. As for taste, I'm still working my way through the black currants but I generally prefer them if they're cooked or processed. They can be pretty tart. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Crandall Black and I remember Boskoop Giant being pretty mild tasting last year. Sorry I can't help more! - Mark

Thanks. Yes. There are some that grow more slowly, but I think you can never eliminate the risk of invasive roots. That said, you can certainly restrain growth of roots by coppicing the willow back every year. And if you want to harvest willow stems for basketry or floral arrangements, or... if you want to have a colorful hedge, you would want to coppice the willow back every year. Its the first year growth of willow that has those special characteristics like color, curls, or weaving ability. Coppicing yearly will certainly restrict root spread. What are you looking for, color, curls, or basketry? Hope this helps! - Mark

Hi. Right. Our willow bed is fenced and protected from deer but my feeling is that deer will sample and forget what they liked or didn't like and go right ahead and sample it again the next day... particularly when everything else is dry from lack of rain. So I don't have any experience with what varieties might be deer resistant. I like the darker rods as well. I've discovered that names of Noire de Villaines and Black Maul build expectation that they will be dark but they are actually a lighter color when dried. However, in our experience, Blackskin willow seems to maintain its dark color even after it is dry. - Mark

Hi. Right. We don't plant anything near the house or septic so I don't have personal experience, but I would assume if you coppice/pollard/heavily prune trees yearly like we do in our willow bed it would limit root growth. Sorry I can't provide anything more definitive. - Mark

Great! I’ll try to take a short video to show progress and share it. They are really starting to grow now with the long days of sunlight. We have some space at our place and our willows are out in the field so we don’t worry too much about roots spreading. While I wouldn’t plant them near a structure, we coppice our willows to the ground every year so the roots won’t be able to spread too far anyway…. Coppicing yearly limits growth somewhat. We harvest all the willow branches every year. We sell cuttings online for other people to grow and keep longer stems that we hope to sell locally for floral arrangements or basketry work. -Mark

@@dingdongsgarden Oh neat! I figured coppicing had some degree of effect. I've been considering doing some rows of my favorite variety of willows and a few other trees with similar characteristics in the back half acre of my property for myself and then selling the extras at a local market. My biggest concern was that I have a septic line running along the edge of the property there, but I'm going to be sure to plant it as far away from that as I can. With the setup, I can easily plant them 50 feet from any structures, but I'd love to plant and coppice some for decorative purposes closer to the house or perhaps a hedgerow along the property line. Glad to find your channel, your videos have been answering a lot of curiosities I've had lately!

Here's how the willows are doing... kzfaq.infoyoXft2fM_ok

Thanks! After the first winter of having them in ground at 7ft spacing we decided to double the density. So now they’re at 3.5 ft spacing. Hopefully I can get another orchard video out soon to show where we’re at. What are you growing? -Mark

Thanks Charles. Not sure how good I am at it yet but hopefully some people are finding it useful. -Mark