Salix Alba Hedging

The White Willow, Salix alba, is a large native tree found growing on damp ground and riverbanks all over the country. The lance shaped, green leaves have a slight silver-grey tint.
Salix alba is not suitable for a clipped hedge.
It can be grown as a screening tree up to about 25 metres high and is a good, tall windbreak tree.

View our selection of willow hedging or see our full range of hedging plants.

White Willow plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).
All of our young trees and shrubs are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

General description of Salix alba plants:
This tree is a lovely choice for waterside planting. One of the larger willows, it is has a full canopy with side branches all the way down the trunk that support plenty of wildlife. The main trunk and big branches are mostly upright, with drooping smaller branches that create a billowing canopy on mature trees. The young, narrow leaves have a silvery coating of hairs which remains on the underside as they develop, which is where the name White Willow comes from.
White Willow catkins appear after the leaves have begun to appear in spring, a bit later than those of some other willows, but they are still quite visible. They provide a good food source for bees at a time when the size of their hives is increasing. On female trees, the yellow catkins will lengthen and release lots of little seeds that waft away on fine, wispy hairs.

History & uses of Salix alba
Willow extract has been used to alleviate pain since ancient times; Hippocrates described how to used powdered willow bark for headaches and fevers. In the 1800's, the chemicals in willow that gave this pain relief were identified and led to the discovery of Aspirin.

Notes on planting White Willow:
Unusually for a willow, Salix alba is an excellent seaside tree. It needs a damp soil and is unlikely to do well on chalky soil - this tree loves acidic earth and the more fertile, the better.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you intend to plant several months in advance. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.
If you have a heavy clay soil, it might be too difficult to dig over for most of the year. Heavy clay is fertile soil, so you don't really need to improve it; killing the weeds is still necessary.

Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a protective plastic spiral for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £6.50 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Area	Coastal Areas, Exposed Windy Areas
Soil	Acidic, Wet
Type	Screening
Also Good	Autumn Colour

	NUMBER OF PLANTS
SIZES	1-9	10-49	50-249	250-999	1000+
60/80 cm Bareroot	Plenty of Stock£1.94	Plenty of Stock£1.28	Plenty of Stock£1.05	Plenty of Stock£0.85	Plenty of Stock£0.63

White Willow

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Salix Alba Hedging