Weeping Willow Salix babylonica

Weeping willow is a fast growing deciduous tree with a broad crown and long pendulous shoots that sweep right down to ground level, and that curtain of hanging growth is what people plant it for. It leafs up early in a soft green, holds dense shade all summer, then drops to bare golden stems through winter. It is a tree for large shade and avenue planting, at park, paddock and dam scale, where there is room for a wide crown and for a root system that goes looking for water.

Site it before you fall for it

Full sun and moderate, reliable moisture at the roots suit it, while hot, dry, exposed positions do not. In decent ground it grows fast, and that speed is also the problem, because the roots travel a long way in search of moisture and they find sewer lines, stormwater pipes, septic trenches, tank plumbing and the bedding under paving. The failure mode has nothing to do with growing it well and everything to do with where it goes: planted near services, it succeeds and costs you thousands. Keep it well clear of buildings, drains and hard surfaces. Willows are also restricted or declared in parts of Australia, so check your state and local council rules before planting anywhere near a waterway, dam or drainage line. Bare root stock is lifted while dormant and must go straight into prepared ground, roots spread out and kept wet from the moment it arrives until it is in the soil and watered, while potted plants can go in across more of the year. A dam bank, a paddock corner or a park edge with open ground on every side is the right home for it.

The other plant here that needs planning

The comparison worth making is with oil palm. Both are large, both get bought on impulse and regretted in the wrong spot, and they fail differently. The palm is limited by cold and by the weight and spines of falling fronds; the willow will grow almost anywhere temperate and causes its trouble underground. Choose the willow for cool and temperate gardens with moisture and space, and the palm only for the frost free far north. The willow is also the one deciduous plant here, so if you want the same position covered through winter, an evergreen such as African boxwood is a different proposition entirely. Neither the willow nor the palm is a small garden tree, and no amount of pruning will turn one into one.

Winter pruning and a light hand with fertiliser

Prune in late winter while the tree is still dormant, or straight after leaf fall, rather than in spring when the sap is running. Formative pruning in the first few years matters: train a single strong leader, remove crossing and rubbing branches, and lift the skirt gradually if the tree sits over a path or a mower line. Established trees need little beyond removing dead, damaged or storm broken wood. Feeding is rarely necessary in reasonable soil. A spring application of complete fertiliser helps young trees settle, and a ring of coarse mulch out towards the drip line, kept off the trunk, does more than fertiliser ever will.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 3 sizes, from 400mm up to Bare Root Advanced, priced from $36.95 to $219.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.