Bareroot Salix viminalis (Osier Willow)

Renowned for its exceptionally long, flexible stems that have been used for centuries in basketry and weaving, this vigorous willow makes an excellent choice for creating living structures or fast growing screens. The narrow, lance shaped leaves with silvery undersides create movement and texture in the garden, while providing habitat for wildlife. Thriving in wet conditions, it's particularly useful for stabilising riverbanks or planting in boggy areas, though it adapts well to most soil types. In early spring, modest yellow catkins appear before the leaves, offering an early food source for pollinators. With a strong upright growth habit, it can be coppiced or pollarded to maintain size, or left to form a substantial multi stemmed shrub that adds height to hedgerows and boundary plantings.

Family of Trees: Salicaceae

Habit: Deciduous Shrub/Tree, Upright

Growth Rate: 80-150 cm/year

Optimal Temperature: 10-25°C, hardy to -40°C

Harmful if Eaten?: Non-toxic

Flowers or Berries: Yellow Catkins

Hardiness: H7 (Extremely Hardy)

Hardiness ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

○ H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
○ H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
○ H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
○ H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
○ H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
○ H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
○ H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
○ H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
○ H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)