Preserving Your Precious Memories
About Willow
Willows add a sense of serenity and beauty and movement to a garden. They can grow to over 25 metres high and provide shade in the heat of Summer. They have long slender leaves, strong limbs for climbing and attractive catkins in the Spring. Weeping willow trees are native to northern China and have unique physical characteristics and practical applications as well as a well-established place in culture, literature, and spirituality throughout the world. Willows invade riverbanks and wetlands, spreading their roots into the bed of the watercourse, slowing the flow of water and reducing aeration. They form thickets which divert water outside the main watercourse or channel, causing flooding and erosion where the creek banks are vulnerable. Willow are deciduous and their leaves create a flush of organic matter when they drop in autumn, reducing water quality and available oxygen, and directly threatening aquatic plants and animals. Together with the amount of water willows use, this damages stream health. The replacement of native vegetation (river red gums) by willows reduces habitat such as nesting hollows, and creates snags for land and aquatic animals.
How it escapes
Most willows are easily spread by stems and twigs breaking off and taking root. Some varieties of willow can also spread by seed, which can be carried up to 100 km by wind or water.
How to keep it in your garden
The simplest strategy is to pull all seedlings (and rooted branches) while they are still small..
For the home gardener control of cuttings and tree-fall is crucial. Removal of the entire tree may be advisable, especially if it is a seeding variety as it has the potential to spread from your garden to surrounding bush. Check with the Council before removing trees. Some willow species cannot be legally sold or traded within Victoria. However, there is no legal obligation upon landholders to manage willows on their properties.