Willow From Cuttings: A 2-Year Photo Timeline
Updated: 3 days ago
When we planted our first willow, we had no idea what we were looking at. We searched for photos of what a willow bed looks like from one month to the next and couldn’t find much. Most of what’s out there shows the finished rods, not the in-between.
So we kept taking pictures. This post is what we wish we’d seen before we started: our beds from the day the cuttings went in to two years later, when they were ready to harvest. You’ll see a few different varieties in these photos, but together they show what’s typical for a willow bed over the first two years.
In short: bare sticks in late winter, bushy branched plants by the first fall, cut to the ground that winter, and 8–10 foot straight rods by the end of year two.
YEAR 1
Feb 2025: Day one. Dormant cuttings pushed into weed fabric. It doesn’t look like much yet.
Mar 2025: The first leaves break from a bare stick.
Apr 2025: A few weeks in. Nearly every cutting is leafing out.
May 2025: Small bushy plants down the whole row.
Oct 2025: Fall, year one. Rods are thin, curvy and branched. Not weaving material yet.
Oct 2025: Lots of side branches. This is normal for first-year willow.
Oct 2025: Spread out and bushy before the winter cut.
Oct 2025: Plenty of growth, but rods are short, crooked and branched.
Year 2
The Winter Cut
Feb 2026: Every plant is cut back to a short stump called a stool. This is the step that makes the rods straight. This process is referred to as coppicing.
Feb 2026: The first harvest. Some of these rods become new cuttings.
Mar 2026: Many new shoots burst from each stool.
May 2026: Thicker and fuller than year one already.
Oct 2026: Long, straight rods packed tight.
Oct 2026: A bigger stool with straight rods coming right off the base. This is weaving willow.
Oct 2026: Two years from a cutting. Our beds averaged about 14 rods per stool in the second season.
Oct 2026: 8 to 10 feet tall and ready to cut. Then it does it again every winter.
Ready to Grow Your Own?
That’s two years of willow, start to finish. The first year doesn’t look like much, and that’s normal. Keep the weeds back, let it grow, and cut it to the ground that first winter, even though it feels wrong. Year two is when it pays off.
If you’re thinking about starting a bed, these will help:
Which Willow Should I Plant? Pick the right varieties for your project.
How to Grow Willow for Weaving Rods: the full process, step by step.
Order willow cuttings for planting this winter.
Questions? Reach out anytime. We’re happy to help.
Comments