Highlights
- Keep well watered
- Do not remove ties
- Pinch new growth off the trunk
- Use loam soil for potting up
- Feed from March up to June
- Trim crown 2 to 4 times a year
- Spray with fungicide monthly
- Do not trim after Late July before Winter
- Leave outside all year round (Full Hardy)
- Lifespan up to 25 years
Important
After purchase, if you do not have your decorative pot ready, place the Willow Twist pot in a bucket or tray that can hold water. That will mean the pot can stay saturated keeping the Willow Twist happy.
To keep your Willow Twist free from disease we recommend that it is sprayed monthly with a preventative and curative solution such as Provanto Fungus Fighter Plus.
General
To keep your Willow Topiary in good health, its very important that they are kept well watered (daily in warm weather).
Alternatively, to keep your Willow Twist happy, place the pot in a tray or bucket that will keep the pot saturated in water.
Do not worry about over-watering.
Ties are used to secure the willow whips in their decorative design. Do not remove the ties as the willow whips will unfurl. The ties do not restrict growth.
To keep the visual effect of the Twisted trunk when new growth appears, simply use your fingers and pinch it off. Do this as promptly as possible before the growth toughens up and is harder to remove without damaging the bark.
After a couple of years, the living willow whips will bond together. This process is called Pressure Grafting. At this point, it doesn’t matter that the ties may snap off; the Willow Topiary will hold its form.
Over the years, the diameter of the twisted decorative trunk will gradually increase while maintaining its design, though it will lose its violet colour, and take on an aged bark appearance.
The Willow Topiary will grow in partial shade to full sun. It must be kept outdoors all year round and will cope with severe frost.
The most important thing is that the willow topiary must not dry out.
Planting & Potting Up
Use a suitably large pot that will give the Willow Twist lots of access to water. A taller pot will also help to display the twisted trunk design at a more visible height.
Its very important that you do not remove the ties that hold the willow whips in their decorative design. Recommended planting depth is roughly 15cm.
When planting in the ground, keep the planting at least 1m away from any walls and the eaves of any roof structures to ensure the willow topiary receives enough light and rain.
Make sure you firm the soil in around the willow topiary. Don’t worry about over-compacting the soil, the willow roots will do just fine.
As long as the willow topiary crown is kept trimmed as per the instructions below, there will be no risk of root damage to drains/structures.
After around 2-3 months, the willow topiary will have established a root system and will, therefore, need less attention with regard to watering.
However, I cannot stress this enough, do not let the Willow Twist dry out.
To fill up your pot, use a general compost or a loam-based topsoil such as the examples below, as loam soil holds onto moisture/nutrients well.
Feeding
When planting/potting up your Willow Twist, adding some slow-release general-purpose granular feed is advisable.
Adding a fertiliser will help to develop root growth and develop a strong/healthy crown. It can also help the Willow Twist to fight off infections.
Look for products that state they are a ‘balanced feed’, typically stated as 7-7-7 or 10-10-10. These numbers relate to the nutrients, namely, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium.
Granular feed, such as the options above, provides one of the simplest and easiest solutions to feed your Willow Twist as they have a blend perfectly suited to trees & shrubs and will release feed slowly over time.
Feeding Frequency
- Early Spring (March/April): Apply your main balanced feed to support early-season growth and recovery from winter pruning.
- Late Spring (May): A secondary light feeding can be applied.
- Mid-June: Final Application. Stop all feeding by mid-June to allow the tree’s nutrient levels to stabilise before the catkin initiation window in July.
Do not feed after June, as this could inhibit the production of catkins, which start to develop in mid to late July.
You will have to adjust the amount of feed relative to the capacity of the pot you’re using; larger pots will obviously need more feed. Please follow the recommendations on the packaging.
To give your Willow Twist an additional health boost, you could consider additional feeding with some Magnesium (Epsom Salt), which supports photosynthesis and counters yellowing leaves.
As Potassium plays such an important role in plant health, including helping to fight off fungal infections, you may want to consider a dedicated potassium fertiliser such as the example below.
Trimming
As the Willow Twist starts to grow, buds will appear all over the tree. Growth above the tie will form the crown of the topiary.
The growth that appears below the tie on the trunk/stem will need to be pinched off with your fingers to maintain the decorative effect/design. By the second growing season, buds on the trunk/stem will be less frequent.
If you don’t promptly pinch off the new growth and it is allowed to grow longer, you may not be able to pinch it off with your fingers, and you may need to cut it off with secateurs/scissors, which will not leave the best effect.
After the first 4 to 6 inches of growth on a new Willow Twist crown, reduce that by half to help to start to develop a thick topiary crown effect.
Trim the growth of the crown at least twice during the first growing season. Trimming up to four times during the year will encourage a more dense topiary effect.
Never cut into the hardwood stems that form the base of the crown. Also, do not conduct any trimming after July before winter, as that will encourage new growth which will be prone to die-back.
Don’t trim after late July/August, as you will cut off any developing catkin buds, which would flower in early spring with attractive, fluffy catkins.
After trimming its recommended to give the tips of the Willow Twist leaves a quick spray with fungicide to keep disease at bay. More details below.
Pests & Dieseases
Willow is generally very resistant to pests and diseases. However, all plants have pests and diseases to be aware of:
IMPORTANT
To keep your Willow Twist free from disease, we recommend that it is sprayed monthly with a preventative and curative solution such as Provanto Fungus Fighter Plus.
FAQ
Q: How do you make your Willow Twists?
Nine willow whips are specifically selected and they are then hand woven/twisted together simultaneously in both a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. Its difficult to explain (and even more difficult to do), but as I’m sure you’ll agree the effect is very attractive.
Q: When do you make your Willow Twists?
Our Willow Twist production window is between November to March, after leaf drop and while the willow is dormant.
Q: What type of willow are the Willow Twists made from?
We grow and make our products from Violet Willow (Salix Daphnoides).
Q: Can the Willow Twist be kept indoors?
No, the Willow Twist needs to be kept outdoors all year round. They are full hardy and cope with any cold UK weather.
Q: How often should a Willow Twist be watered?
You want to make sure the compost/soil in the pot is always moist. To help, you could place the pot on a saucer/tray to reduce water loss from the pot.
A larger pot that can hold more water will reduce the frequency of watering required. You do not need to worry about over-watering. Alternatively, they can be planted in a garden.
Q: How often should a Willow Twist be trimmed?
Trimming the fresh growth as part of the crown of the Willow Twist will encourage even more growth. The general recommendation is between one to four trims per season, with more trimming creating a denser topiary effect. But don’t trim between late July and Winter.
Q: What size of plant pot for a Willow Twist?
The general rule is that the width of the pot should match the width of the crown you wish to grow. So, as the Willow Twist grows, it may need a larger pot. A larger pot can also mean less frequent watering is required.
Q: How deep should a Willow Twist be planted?
The bottom 15cm of the Willow Twist should be in the soil/compost. It’s also very important to compress the soil/compost around the twisted trunk.
Q: Will the decorative effect of the stem/truck get any taller?
No, while the decorative stem/trunk will get thicker and fuse together over the years (pressure graft), the decorative effect will not continue to get taller.
Q: Does a Willow Twist require a spot with full sun?
No, a Willow Twist will quite happily grow in an area with partial shade. However, it won’t grow well in an area of very little light/permanent shade.
Q: How to keep a Willow Twist happy during very hot weather?
A Willow Twist needs lots of water to stay healthy. As its pretty impossible to overwater willow, during very hot, dry weather, you may wish to place your potted Willow Twist in a tub of water.
Alternatively, you could repot the Willow Twist in a larger pot and also mix some Water-Retaining Granuels into the compost for it to retain more moisture.
Q: When do the catkins appear?
In late winter/early spring is when the catkins may appear before new growth. They will appear on the end of the newest growth. For instance, below are catkins on a new Willow Twist.
However, don’t be surprised if you don’t see any catkins appear on the first one to two years of new growth on a Willow Twist, that’s normal.
Q: Do I need to remove new buds on the decorative trunk/stem?
Yes, if you don’t, that new growth will eventually cover up the decorative effect of the twisted trunk. They are easy to pinch off when they are around 1cm in length. During the second growing season, they will be very minimal.
Q: What is Bloom and how to deal with it?
Bloom may appear on the twisted trunk of the Willow Twist and its completely natural and normal, its not a bacterial/fungal infection. Its a waxy coating produced by the Willow as a means of protection to reduce moisture loss, the same as bloom on grapes.
However, if you would like to remove it from the Willow Twist its easy to do as you can see from the image above where I rub my thumb over it.
The most practical means to remove bloom is with a soft brush/paint brush and some water, you can wash it off in seconds.
Q: The leaves have turned yellow and dropped off?
Water stress (lack of water) is the most likely reason. If you are struggling to keep the Willow Twist moist, place the pot on a tray/saucer to retain water.
Alternatively, you could repot the Willow Twist in a larger pot and also mix some Water-Retaining Granuels into the compost for it to retain more moisture.
However, presuming you have kept the willow topiary well watered, yellow leaves could also be a sign of Rust or Anthracnose/Black Canker (see below).
Pick off any yellow, brown or generally unhealthy leaves and spray with fungicide (see below). The Willow Twist will quickly grow back new leaves.
Make sure you review the information on feeding the Willow Twist to give it the best chance to fight off fungal infections by keeping it as healthy as possible.
Q: Why are the stems turning black?
If you can see black on the stems of the Willow Twist, this is a sign of Black Canker which is a fungal infection.
Leaf die back and the leaves turning yellow is also a potential sign of Black Canker or another type of fungal infection.
We decontaminate the Willow Twists with Liquid Copper Fungicide during manufacture and seal the cuts. However, fungal infections during growth are still a possibility that needs to be addressed.
IMPORTANT:
As a preventative and curative solution we recommend spraying your Willow Twist monthly during the growing season with Provanto Fungus Fighter Plus.
Q: When to do the first trim?
Around the start of June the Willow Twist will have around 4 to 6 inches of growth. At this time its worth giving it a little trim which will help to develop a thicker/denser crown as it continues to grow.
After trimming its recommended to give the tips of the Willow Twist leaves a quick spray with fungicide to keep disease at bay.
You’ll typically need to trim your Willow Twist around 2 to 4 times a year, depending on the shape/style you’re aiming for.
After your Catkin display in the Spring/March each year, then you should give your Willow Twist a good cutback/trim, ready for that year’s new growth.