Common Osier Willow Plants

• Variety: Common Osier, the basket Willow and the fastest screen we sell
• Latin name: Salix viminalis
• Sold as: Bareroot plants, 60/80cm tall
• Kept height: Cut to a stool each winter for rods, or left to grow as a screen
• Ultimate size: 4 to 8m tall by 2.5 to 4m wide, in 2 to 5 years
• Growth rate: Very fast
• Spacing: 2 per metre, 50cm apart
• Soil: Wet or heavy ground for preference. Most moist soils, but not shallow chalk
• Position: Full sun. Exposed or sheltered
• Planting distance: At least 10m from drains and buildings, and 15m is better
• Native: Yes
• Thorns: None
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H7, hardy in the severest British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Common Osier is the native Willow that the basket trade was built on: long, whippy, greenish-yellow rods, slender catkins before the leaves, and full height in 2 to 5 years. Grow it for weaving, for a living Willow fence or for a quick screen on wet ground, well away from drains.

Common Osier Willow Plants

Common Osier Willow, Salix viminalis, is a large, fast-growing waterside shrub, with dense, flexible stems and an upright growth habit. It's 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 4-6m tall, and the RHS gives 4 to 8 metres as its full height.
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-April inclusive.

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'll 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.

Garden Design Ideas

It's excellent for growing as a low maintenance tall screen or windbreak; it's 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 willow varieties

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.

Planting Companions

Osier is a plant for a wet-ground planting and not for a mixed garden hedge. On the same soil, Grey Willow and Goat Willow bring the best catkins, Purple Willow gives finer rods for weaving, and Common Alder fixes its own nitrogen. If you plan to weave it where it stands, read to fedge or not first. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Your Willow Plants from Ashridge?

Hedging and young native trees are not a sideline here: your Common Osier plants are grown for us by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Willow is best for weaving?

This one. Osier is the basketry Willow: cut to a low stool each winter, it sends up long, straight, flexible rods.

Can you make a living Willow fence with it?

Yes. Osier is the right plant for a living Willow fence, or fedge. Push the rods in while dormant, weave them, and trim the new growth each year.

How fast does Common Osier grow?

As fast as anything we sell. The RHS gives it 2 to 5 years to reach its full height of 4 to 8 metres.

How far from drains and buildings should a Willow go?

Willow roots seek water and will find a leak in an old pipe. Keep it at least 10 metres from drains, septic tanks, walls and foundations, and 15 metres is more comfortable.

Will it grow on chalk?

Not well. The RHS says it grows in most moist soils except alkaline ones. It wants wet or heavy ground in full sun.

Does it make a formal hedge?

No. The shoots are long and carry few side branches, so it makes a tall screen or windbreak and not a clipped hedge.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the plants are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your plants are lifted and sent once the season opens.