Common Osier Willow Plants

Salix viminalis: Bareroot Common Osier Willow Saplings

Common Osier Willow, Salix viminalis, is a large, fast-growing waterside shrub, with dense, flexible stems and an upright growth habit. It is very vigorous, growing up to 1.5 metres per year. It has long, slender leaves that open following the appearance of catkins in spring, which are green on females and yellow on males. In the wild, it rarely reaches more than 3-6m tall, but with human attention it can grow close to 10m.
If you want a supply of willow withies to weave, or if you need a screen in a hurry, it's a great choice.

See our selection of willow plants or view our range of hedging and sapling plants.

Delivery season: Bareroot plants are delivered during late autumn and winter, approximately November-March inclusive.

Features

• Height: To 6m
• Soil: Ideally wet, with full sun, but will tolerate most soils except chalk.
• Grows on the coast, but not with roots in seawater. Brackish water is tolerable. 
• Use: Screening, soil stabilisation, withies for weaving.
• Single Row: 2 per metre

Growing Salix viminalis

Willows love wet soil and plenty of sun. They won't grow in salt water, but otherwise are happy in exposed coastal locations with salty winds. They will tolerate sites with industrial pollution, but not chalk.

Spacing a row of Salix viminalis: Plant at 2 per metre, 50cm apart in a single row.

Osier Willow in your Garden

It is excellent for growing as a low maintenance tall screen or windbreak; it is extremely vigorous and its shoots don't have enough side branches to make a "proper" formal hedge. For extra interest and wildlife value, interplant with other varieties like

Its matted, fibrous roots, are ideal to reduce soil erosion on banks beside water.

Note: Willow roots will clog pipes and drains if they get into them like nothing else (Poplar and Alder are close contenders), so don't plant them closer than 10-15 metres to buildings.

Did You Know?

The Osier has been used widely for basket making from Europe to Asia, and it is usually what is being referred to by the name Basket Willow, although this can apply to other varieties as well. Other common names include hemp willow, velvet osier, and augers.

It is hard to tell where it originates from, because people were taking it with them as they moved around even before Roman times. Some experts believe it is native in the South of England and Wales.

Like many willows, it is widely planted around industrial zones and sewage treatment plants to help absorb heavy metals and other pollutants.