Almond willow

Almond willow: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Shrub or shrubby small tree of 3–7 m; about 3 m across when coppiced.

Leaf

Alternate, 5–10 cm, lanceolate, evenly toothed and hairless; upper side glossy dark green, underside dull green or bluish-grey. Large, ear-shaped stipules that persist.

Bark

Hairless, olive-green to reddish-brown twigs; older stems with bark that flakes off in patches.

Flower

Slender, scented catkins in April–May, together with the leaves; the male flowers have three stamens.

Fruit

Fluffy seeds in June.

Difference from white willow and crack willow

White willow is a large tree with leaves that are silvery and silky on both sides; crack willow is a tree with larger, long-pointed leaves and twigs that snap off with a crack.

Flowering: April–May · Pruning: December–March

Identify by feature: Long, narrow leaves · Peeling bark

Looks like it, but isn’t

• White willow Salix alba: leaves silvery and silky on both sides; a large tree. Difference from white willow
• Crack willow (Salix × fragilis): a tree with larger, long-pointed leaves and twigs that snap off with a crack.

Why grow it?

• Tough, smooth rods for fine weaving and baskets.
• Scented catkins in April–May, when the earliest willows have already finished flowering.
• Food plant for many caterpillars.
• Bark that flakes off in patches on older stems, like a plane tree.

Almond willow: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Moist to wet ground, beside a ditch, moat, river or pond; any soil type, and it tolerates flooding.
• Allow 3–7 m height if you let it grow; coppiced every few years it stays much smaller.
• The roots seek out water: keep it away from sewers, drains and pond liners.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Moist to wet

Size

5 m tall, 3 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Purple willow: Another weaving willow with purplish-red rods: together a small osier bed with rods in different colours.
• Osier: A weaving willow with long rods for coarser work, for the same wet ground.
• Alder: The classic tree of the stream bank: together they hold the bank in place.
• White willow: As a pollard by the same ditch: together the picture of the old polder landscape.

Almond willow: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, when the ground is not frozen.
2. The easiest way is a cutting: a fresh rod pushed into the ground in winter.
3. Buy plants from a nursery that sells native planting stock or a willow grower; never take plants from the wild.
4. Water after planting and during dry spells in the first year.

Care

Watering

During dry spells in the first year; on wet ground never after that.

Feeding

Not needed.

Coppicing

Every one to three years in winter (see pruning).

Using the rods

After coppicing, sort the rods by length and bundle them; soak dried rods in water for a few days before weaving.

Tip: Leave one shrub alone for a number of years: the flaking bark appears on the older stems, and the shrub then flowers richly with scented catkins.

Almond willow: when to prune it?

Pruning months: December–March.

When: While dormant in winter, from December to March.

How:

• Coppice or pollard it every one to three years, just above the ground or the pollard head: this gives long, straight rods.
• If you grow it as a shrub, thin out the oldest branches every few years; that way you also get to see the flaking bark.
• Saw thick branches off in two stages, so the bark doesn’t tear.

Caution: Don’t coppice every shrub in the same year: cutting back in winter also removes the catkins that feed the bees in spring.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In winter, push 20–30 cm rods into moist soil: they root readily.

Living willow work

Fresh rods pushed into the ground and woven together grow into a living willow screen.

Almond willow: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy, and copes well with winter flooding.
• Winter is the season for pruning and cuttings; choose a day without hard frost.

Diseases and pests

• Willow leaf beetle: Small blue beetles and their larvae eat the leaves. Harmless for a shrub that is coppiced regularly.
• Willow rust: Orange spore patches on the underside of the leaves in late summer. Harmless.
• Roots in the drains: Willow roots seek out water and can grow into pipes. Plant it a few metres away from sewers and drains.

Through the year

• January: Coppicing; sort rods for weaving.
• February: Coppicing; push cuttings into the ground.
• March: Last month for pruning and cuttings.
• April: Flowering: scented catkins together with the leaves.
• May: Last catkins for the bees.
• June: Fluffy seeds.
• July: Water young plants in dry spells.
• December: Coppicing; bundle the rods.

What can you use it for?

Also used for

Once widely grown in osier beds: the tough, smooth rods are ideal for fine weaving and baskets.

For wildlife

Scented catkins for bees; food plant for many caterpillars.

Garden and landscape

Shrub for wet ground beside a ditch or pond.

Did you know?

• It is our only willow with three stamens per flower, hence the scientific name triandra; the leaves look like those of the almond tree.
• An osier bed is a plot of willows cut back regularly for their rods. In the Biesbosch in the Netherlands, osier beds used to be an important source of work.
• The bark of older stems flakes off in patches, like a plane tree.