Living willow and linseed oil

kieran.f.macdonald

Hi all,

I've made a garden structure that's a mix of living and dead willow. I want to treat it with turps and linseed oil, so obviously my plan is to paint only the dead parts with the turps/oil mix and to 'paint around' the living parts. My question is, how dangerous is the turps/oil mix to the living willow? Should I avoid getting even a tiny drop on the living parts, or will they be OK with a bit of turps and oil splashed on the surface here and there? And if there is any danger, are there any alternatives for treating the dead parts that don't pose any risk to the living parts?

philippasmith2

Just out of interest -  is there a reason why you wish to use either Turpentine or Linseed oil on the willow ( alive or dead ) ?

hogweed

Never heard of doing this. I am intrigued.

kieran.f.macdonald

philippa smith2 said:

Just out of interest -  is there a reason why you wish to use either Turpentine or Linseed oil on the willow ( alive or dead ) ?

Well, my wife was told at her weaving class, and we've read in a couple of other sources, that if you have an outdoor structure made of 'dry' (dead) willow, you should weatherproof it every year with a mix of 50/50 turps and (boiled?) linseed oil. Obviously you don't need to do this with living willow, as it is already weatherproof by virtue of being alive. So we're not sure what to do when you have a mix of living and dry.

Lyn

That’s a good idea.

pansyface

Maybe her weaving class has a suggestion?

hogweed

I would be tempted to do nothing. 

kieran.f.macdonald

Here is the structure if anyone's interested (we've yet to add some decorative weaving). If you look closely you can see that four of the uprights (the green ones) are alive, with new growth at the top. Most of the rest of it, obviously including all of the weaving, is 'dry' or dead. So we need to work out how to weatherproof the latter without damaging the former.

Blue Onion

Do you suppose the tight weave of the dead will strangle the living? 

Looks lovely, btw. 

kieran.f.macdonald

Suppose it might do, or alternatively, the dry weaving might split open as the live uprights grow and increase in diameter. Hopefully they'll have a bit of room to grow as, thanks to our beginner-level weaving skills, the weaving isn't very tight... 

And thanks!