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Salix Flamingo Willow

rosyposymarierosyposymarie Posts: 32
in Plants
I have had my plant in the garden for 3 years, can I move it to another part of the garden or can I put it in a large pot.  When can I move it?
Ideas please

Posts

  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 241
    Newbie gardener, so please take my thoughts below with a large pinch of salt and make sure you have advice from more experienced gardeners before taking action that might damage your tree.

    My guess for when to move it, if you are going to move it, would be when it is dormant during the winter/early spring months, as this seems to be the advice for most other deciduous trees/shrubs. I bought one in the middle of December; it was delivered the other week as a bareroot plant, so was clearly moved in its dormant state. Given this, my best guess as a newbie gardener would be that this period (winter/early spring) is the best time to move it, although you may have to wait for a day when the ground isn't frozen. However, I don't know much about different types of trees or how their respective root systems grow, so I don't know whether or not this would be wise for a more well established tree that is the age you say yours is; mine is only young so didn't have a particularly extensive root system, so could probably deal with the move better than an older plant where the roots are more plentiful and therefore more likely to get damaged. Hopefully one of the more experienced gardeners on this forum can offer you a more concrete answer!

    The site I bought mine from says that they can be grown in tubs or containers, so depending on how big the roots are I guess you might be able to put it in a large pot. Again, hopefully more experienced gardeners will be able to advise you better on this.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing how my Salix Flamingo grows - it looks a bit uninspiring at the moment, just a few twiggy little branches with some dead leaves still clinging on, but the pictures I've seen online seem to promise something beautiful!
  • rosyposymarierosyposymarie Posts: 32
    Thank you

    I just love this Flamingo it is so pretty, but in the wrong place,  I think I will pot it when the ground gets a bit warmer, that is if the roots are not too big
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 241
    Yes, everything is a bit frozen right now. Fingers crossed things will warm up over the next couple of weeks.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 54,353
    They aren't really suited to pot culture. Too difficult to keep them hydrated. 
    If you can't plant in the ground, you'll need a sizeable container, and it will require extra attention because of that.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,839
    It's a willow so it will easily get thirsty.  By all means move it now if you can and the ground isn't frozen but make sure its new site doesn't dry out in hot dry spells, that it's foliage isn't burned by excess sun and wind and that if you do move it to a pot it has a saucer and you water it daily in summer.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • rosyposymarierosyposymarie Posts: 32
    OK thanks, into the ground it goes as soon as the snow has gone
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 241
    @rosyposymarie Sorry if my thoughts were a bit off the mark, @Fairygirl and @Obelixx are definitely much more experienced gardeners than I am, so they will know best. Definitely follow their advice over mine!

    My baby flamingo willow has had to go into a big pot out of necessity (small garden, not much room for planting anything in beds), so I am glad to have read their comments - I now know that I will need to get a saucer (a huge one!) to go under my large pot and that I will need to give it extra special care in terms of watering when summer rolls around! Thank you to you, @rosyposymarie, for asking the question and to @Fairygirl and @Obelixx for their answers.

    I hope your flamingo willow is very happy in its new spot in the ground and that you get many more years of joy from it.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,839
    The majority of the foliage on these plants is cream and pink and quite fine so prone to sunburn and wind scorch if it gets too dry.    Many are also grown as standards with a Flamingo "pompom" grafted onto another willow rootstock and stem.   You need to be careful not to damage the graft union when manoeuvring these plants.

    Treated well they can be pretty and decorative and provide movement when the breeze catches their stems.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • rosyposymarierosyposymarie Posts: 32
    WillowBark said:
    @rosyposymarie Sorry if my thoughts were a bit off the mark, @Fairygirl and @Obelixx are definitely much more experienced gardeners than I am, so they will know best. Definitely follow their advice over mine!

    My baby flamingo willow has had to go into a big pot out of necessity (small garden, not much room for planting anything in beds), so I am glad to have read their comments - I now know that I will need to get a saucer (a huge one!) to go under my large pot and that I will need to give it extra special care in terms of watering when summer rolls around! Thank you to you, @rosyposymarie, for asking the question and to @Fairygirl and @Obelixx for their answers.

    I hope your flamingo willow is very happy in its new spot in the ground and that you get many more years of joy from it.
  • rosyposymarierosyposymarie Posts: 32
    Many thanks for your comments it's always good to hear other people's ideas
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