Tesco Willow

[Bee-Key-Pur]

This is kind of what I want to use willow for. Either willow or Espalier apples. Not sure how to go about doing it though. I'm now much of a gardner

What coffee are you drinking in the morning, that you can carry all those cuttings?


Brian

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Dam, sorry wrong quote....
Such is life...

 

[tonybloke]

I'll give you a hand / advice Simon with planting to surround the apiary.
give me a bell?

 

[Ely]

Cheers tony. I'll give you a ring when I'm ready to by some plants etc

 

[hedgerow pete]

i had not realised you can do cuttings for hazel, i was told it had to be air layered

 

[Skyhook]

it's a grafted type, usually 'kilmarnock wilow'

you're better of with common willow, weeping willow or twisted willow for early pollen source for bees.

Willows mostly have male and female on separate plants- obviously only the males give pollen. The Kilmarnock willow is a male form of goat willow, and therefore a good source of pollen- although as they don't get big, how much 1 plant would yield is another matter. There is a very similar form ''Weeping Sally' which is female, so no use for pollen.

Although the bigger willows have very destructive roots, I wouldn't expect Kilmarnock to get big enough to cause problems.

 

[Skyhook]

Have also been pulling up Hazel suckers from around the base of coppiced trees and transplanting them at two allotment sites I am connected with, it’s a shame that most allotments have no willow or hazel trees.

i had not realised you can do cuttings for hazel, i was told it had to be air layered

Suckers, not cuttings. If you can find a bit at the edge of a clump that has a few roots, it should take fine, an 'Irishman's cutting'. A normal cutting wont take.

 

[Sabrina]

What colour is willow pollen please? There are a lot of willows near my apiary and I'm wondering if that's what the ladies were bringing in today. I saw bright orangey-yellow pollen and also bright greeny-yellow.

 

[Ely]

My dads tree is a big weeping willow. I'll take cuttings from that.

 

[Silly Bee]

What colour is willow pollen please? There are a lot of willows near my apiary and I'm wondering if that's what the ladies were bringing in today. I saw bright orangey-yellow pollen and also bright greeny-yellow.

Can you get to watch the bees working on it? If you can you can see exactly the colour. Mine were on snowdrops today, thats an orangy colour.

 

[thunderbird]

As has been said willow takes root very easily from cuttings, £7 from tesco is expensive. this time of year you can buy dry rooted plants http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10X-GOAT-WILL...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item3cb0fa04f2 much more economic if your planting a larger area

 

[Sabrina]

Not much chance of seeing the bees on the willows. The trees are quite wide spread over quite an area of open land. Also fruit trees (various) and some gardens. It's an out apiary of sorts.
Might spend some time hanging around the willows on a sunny day and see if any of them drop by!
Watched them late last autumn working a neighbour's fuchsia enthusiastically.