Living Willow Wall

coppersend

Wondering if anyone has made a living willow wall.
I have a small patio area at the rear of my garden which has my BBQ  table and chairs 
for a dining area.
The patio is covered in paving and the fence is ship lap wood fence.

I have a number of Hydrangeas in large pots in the corners which gives colour to
the area.
I was thinking of building some wooden troughs and making a living wall from willow 
canes
has anyone else done this ? or does anyone have any idea whether it would work
if yes how deep should the troughs be.

Great to get some ideas and comments please
Mel

pansyface

Bumping up for comments.
Willow loves water. Think riversides. Troughs may be too dry.

Lizzie27

I don't think willows would survive in a trough, but you could think of a bamboo wall. We used fargesia murielae ( about 4ft high with yellow stems) in a stone trough as a wind/privacy barrier quite successfully. They will still need constant watering though. I put 4 small plants in a 4-ft long trough at the end of our terrace and ten years later, I will need to dig them out somehow as they've died over the summer

treehugger80

bare in mind that happy willow will stick 20 feet+ of growth on in a year, and not all of that growth will be up, some will be sideways. you will loose your patio by the end of summer unless you're out there every weekend chopping it back

I would seriously consider bamboo's, minimal maintenance with a defined maximum height

coppersend

Thanks Lizzie

A great Idea I have some Fargesia Muirielae in a trough in my garden.
This morning after receiving your post I decided to go out
Remove the Bamboo from its trough and using an old saw I cut it through the 
centre long way splitting the plant in two and then replanting it in two troughs which 
made the screen I wanted.
So thank you so much
Now just praying that it will continue to grow and not die on me
Mel



 

coppersend

treehugger80 said:

bare in mind that happy willow will stick 20 feet+ of growth on in a year, and not all of that growth will be up, some will be sideways. you will loose your patio by the end of summer unless you're out there every weekend chopping it back

I would seriously consider bamboo's, minimal maintenance with a defined maximum height

Thanks for your thoughts that was my fear with Willow
Bamboo Fargesia is now being used as my screen
Once again cheers