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By Horseshoe | Need a "no cost" solution for rooting cuttings? Try willow tea. Use green willow branches steeped in warm water and cooled overnight, This solution will stimulate rooting, growth, and good health for cuttings as well as for established plants. The growing tips of willow branches possess high levels of the auxin indolebutyric acid, a synthetic form of which is used in most commercial rooting compounds.
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Name: Sheila F Fort Worth TX (Zone 8a)              Sheila_FW Aug 23, 2011 6:03 PM CST |
Nice tip Shoe! If I wouldn't get dirty looks for snipping off a neighbor's tree, I might try that! Pretty simple to do. Maybe I need to go meet the neighbor with a willow tree.  |
Name: Sharon Calvert City, KY (Zone 7a)           Sharon Aug 23, 2011 6:15 PM CST |
| Exactly right, Shoe. It works every time. And Sheila, it just takes one little green branch to make a cup or two of tea. They won't miss it. |
Name: Margaret Near Kamloops, BC, Canada (Zone 3a)       mcash70 Aug 23, 2011 6:33 PM CST |
Will weeping willow work? I have a large tree in my yard.  |
Name: Cindi Wichita, Kansas (Zone 7a)        CindiKS Aug 23, 2011 6:35 PM CST |
Weeping willow works well...  plus if you leave enough of the cut branch, it will root also, and then you have another willow tree.  Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get. H. Jackson Brown, Jr. |
Name: Renée Northern KY    KyWoods Aug 23, 2011 6:44 PM CST |
| So any kind of willow tree will work? There are willow trees at my sister's condo community, but I don't know what kind. |
Name: Margaret Near Kamloops, BC, Canada (Zone 3a) mcash70 Aug 23, 2011 6:46 PM CST |
| Thanks Cindi, How would I use it as a tonic for my garden plants? |
Name: Jay Nederland, Texas (Zone 9a)        Horntoad Aug 23, 2011 6:53 PM CST |
| I really like this tip. Willows are weeds around here. They pop up everywhere and grow so fast. Wish I had known this before potting up my cuttings this week. wildflowersoftexas.com texasnatureonline.com |
Name: Dave Whitinger Jacksonville, Texas (Zone 8b)     |
| Same here, we have many thousands of willows all through our bottom land. We have a pond that dried up this summer. Once it dried up, hundreds of willows sprang up out of the moist floor of the pond! This is an area that had been submerged by water for quite a while. I don't know where they came from. |
Name: josephine Arlington, Texas (Zone 8a) Hi Everybody!! Let us talk native.    frostweed Aug 23, 2011 7:53 PM CST |
| Do you put the cuttings in the willow water? or do you use it to water the cuttings after they are potted? Wildflowers are the Smiles of Nature. Gardening with Texas Native Plants and Wildflowers. |
Name: Ann ~Heat zn 9, Sunset North Fl. (Zone 8b)    flaflwrgrl Aug 23, 2011 7:58 PM CST |
| What a cool tip! Now I just need to find some Willow trees. And how do you root a willow? And what frostweed asked. how do youuse the willow tea for rooting? SHOOOOOOOOE!!!!! We need more info. here. We're all  I am a strong believer in the simple fact is that what matters in this life is how we treat others. I think that's what living is all about. Not what I've done in my life but how I've treated others. ~~ Sharon Brown ~~ |
Name: Janet Gilroy, CA       imapigeon Aug 23, 2011 8:03 PM CST |
| Oh yeah----thanks for the reminder! I have a curly willow in a pot that works great! |
Name: Evan Pioneer Valley south, MA, USA (Zone 6a)        |
| Evan |
Name: Horseshoe Griffin Efland, NC (Zone 7a) And in the end...a happy beginning!      Horseshoe Aug 23, 2011 8:42 PM CST |
| Howdy, Folks.... I use weeping willow because that is what's available. I can only assume other willows have the same compounds. You'll need to use new growth wood, not deadfall. New growth wood is what contains the auxins you want to use. Cut your branches into 3" or 4" pieces. One cup of twigs will give you a nice "stock" to work with. Put them in a stock pot and cover with one quart of water, bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes or so, covered. Let it sit over night to cool. Strain the sticks out and store this liquid in the fridge for several months if you like. I've used it as is (straight) for dipping cuttings in (bring to room temperature the amount you're going to use) or you can dilute it 50/50 with water. The best thing about making this strong stock is you can use it for many cuttings at different strengths. For example, green tip cuttings of gardenias will be fine using a 50/50 dilution (or less), woodier cuttings (hardwood) may do better using full strength. This solution is also a nice "pick me up" for ailing plants when diluted and used as a foliar spray or lightly watered around the root system. Go for it! Have fun! Shoe |
Name: Pegi Putnam Norwalk, Ca. zone 10b    Samigal Aug 23, 2011 8:47 PM CST |
| Now I have to find out where I can find a willow tree. Better start investigating, may have some in my neighborhood. Great tip!! |
Name: Horseshoe Griffin Efland, NC (Zone 7a) And in the end...a happy beginning! Horseshoe Aug 23, 2011 8:55 PM CST |
| Willows love water so look in areas with ponds, rivers, low-lying "swamp" areas. And if you have room to grow one, when you find a willow tree stick a couple branches in the soil and they'll usually root pretty easily. When they do dig them up and put them where you like Shoe |
Name: Renée Northern KY KyWoods Aug 23, 2011 9:18 PM CST |
| Great info, thanks, Shoe! |
Name: josephine Arlington, Texas (Zone 8a) Hi Everybody!! Let us talk native. frostweed Aug 23, 2011 9:36 PM CST |
Thank you very much for the information, I will give it a try, I am always rooting cuttings so I can make good use of it.  Wildflowers are the Smiles of Nature. Gardening with Texas Native Plants and Wildflowers. |
Name: Margaret Near Kamloops, BC, Canada (Zone 3a) mcash70 Aug 23, 2011 9:37 PM CST |
 I have a huge weeping willow!! Shoe would that tonic be good for my daylilies in the spring and the fall, get them going and put them to sleep? |
Name: Shelly Colorado (Zone 5b)   Shelly Aug 23, 2011 10:03 PM CST |
| Wonderful tip! Thank you for the added info also! I have been wanting a pussy willow, and now I can justify buying one even more. "You may not be responsible for getting knocked down, but you're certainly responsible for getting back up." |
Name: Horseshoe Griffin Efland, NC (Zone 7a) And in the end...a happy beginning! Horseshoe Aug 23, 2011 11:22 PM CST |
| Thanks for the "thanks", Folks. I'll bring up any topic that can save people some moola! I'm a miser, ya know..... "Shoe would that tonic be good for my daylilies in the spring and the fall, get them going and put them to sleep?" Margaret/mcash...hmmm, maybe some willow tea to wake them up and some chamomile tea to put them to sleep, eh? Shoe (wondering why he's still up at 1:30 am; must'a been that cup of willow tea) |
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