Irette Willow is a Salix purpurea variety that we grow for its slender, lighter colored rods and minimal side branching, making it an excellent material for basket weaving. This variety produces late-fall or early-winter catkins, and its foliage browns slightly as winter approaches. We prune this willow back to the ground every year, a practice known as coppicing, to ensure a harvest of first-year wood that can also be maintained as a hedge. It does have some minor branching at the tips which include tiny catkins.
Botanical Specs & Profile:
Irette Willow is an upright, fast-growing deciduous shrub cultivated for its slender, flexible rods. It features light-colored stems that are mostly free of side branching, making it highly suitable for basketry and weaving material. In late fall and early winter, long catkins form on the wood before developing into new branches. This variety produces an elegant hedge when cut back to the ground annually, a practice that encourages vigorous first-year growth.
This product is a dormant cutting that will take root, leaf out, and grow if planted under the right conditions. Since plant propagation success rates can vary depending on climate, location, and timing there is no universal recipe for success. If you are new to plant propagation, follow the link on each product page for 'Videos on How to Propagate...'.
