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My 2013 blog post about Dappled Willow is one of the top gardening posts I’ve ever written here on Pet Scribbles, so I think it’s time for an update, to see how our Dappled Willow is doing three years later! Hint: we love this plant!
I can’t tell you how happy it makes me when I write something that helps people, and my original Dappled Willow post has been doing just that, ever since I first posted it three years ago.
In fact, I had a neighbor actually stop me at Home Depot one day, as he was shopping for Dappled Willow. He had “Googled” the shrub — like we all do — and the first link in the search results was to my blog post! We had a good laugh about that, as he had no idea he’d end up reading advice from a neighbor! And I hadn’t realized at the time just how popular this post had become.
One of the reasons the post has been so popular, is because I show you how to easily grow multiple “shrubs” with stems cut from your original shrub. Much more fun that simply buying lots of Dappled Willow shrubs at once, plus you save money!
I want you to go back and read the original Dappled Willow post — as I have pictures from when we first planted the original shrub, plus tons of helpful tips and planting info.
(I’m smiling as I type this to you, because my husband and I absolutely love our “wall” of Dappled Willow! Wait until you see it!)
Go and read the article, and I’ll wait here and gaze at Otto, sleeping here on my desk next to my laptop!
So. To sum up my original post from three years ago…
- we made a rookie mistake,
- we accidentally grew more shrubs,
- we’ve been adding to our collection of Dappled Willow ever since!
We have a living wall of Dappled Willow and it’s SO much nicer than staring at a blank fence!
The original shrub is on the left end of the Dappled Willow wall. On the right end are the newest shrubs we planted two years ago from more twigs stuck into pots.
We cut more twigs last Summer and stuck them into pots again as we want to complete the line of Dappled Willow to the end of the white fencing on that side. (Those pots are to the right of the Dappled Willow, and include other plant seedlings we’re growing including an evergreen that sprouted in our backyard years ago.)
We left the potted twigs outside over the Winter months. No special care, no protection from the elements like snow or freezing temps. (We’re in zone 7, near the shore in southern New Jersey.)
Most of them sprouted, and a few of them didn’t. It depends what Mother Nature decides to do.
Some of the sprouts occurred at the bottom of the red twigs . . .
While other new growth occurred further up the stems, and in some cases long stems sprouted up rather quickly this Spring . . .
Remember: we don’t bother with any special rooting solution or anything else. Just cut, stick in a pot of dirt, then wait and see what happens.
We’re going to plant these new twigs this month!
And this time? We will definitely space these seedlings– which will turn into gorgeous shrubs — much farther apart this time!
Because . . .
Everything I wrote in my original Dappled Willow post three years ago still stands, but I want to emphasize just one point in particular to you:
Dappled Willow shrubs grow quickly and enjoy lots of room!
Here’s what our Dappled Willow — next to our Magnolia Janes — looked like back in 2013:
And here they are today, three years later:
Just looking at the lack of space between the branches of the Magnolia Janes and Dappled Willow shows you the importance of not planting these shrubs too close to each other.
I have to trim the Dappled Willow back a few times during the Summer and Fall to make sure it doesn’t take over our pretty Magnolia Janes.
This shrub responds super well to pruning, so you can keep the Dappled Willow to whatever height and width you would like. Just remember that the more you want it to fit into a confined space, the more you’ll have to prune it.
When to prune? Either very early Spring before (or just as) the buds start to show — or — after their gorgeous salmon-pink leaves are done blooming. The color the rest of the season is a pretty, variegated (i.e. dappled) green and white.
The image above shows you the height of ours. The white vinyl fence is 6 feet tall, and the Dappled Willow is approximately 10 feet high!
We trim it up perhaps two to three times a season, as we like to keep the front of the shrubs fairly even with the stone edging. (And you can see that we’ll be pruning once the bloom time is done later this month.)
We also go over to our neighbor’s yard — which conveniently happens to be my sister-in-law and husband’s home — and trim back any branches hanging over into their yard as well. They love the look of it rising above the fence too!
In conclusion?
We love this perennial shrub for its easy care, its reliability, and of course its multi-season interest. I think you will too.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this update!
Happy gardening!
Laura,
I remember this post from years ago. I think there will be some dappled willow in my future. Your yard is beautiful.
Happy Creating,
Karen Marie
Thank you! Your posts about your gorgeous dappled willows give me the confidence to prune a dappled willow in the yard of our new home. It is gigantic and wild looking, but obviously uncared for as it is spindly and turning brown in spots. It needs to be cut back by at least two-thirds to fit well into its space. I’m glad you suggested cutting older branches to the ground as I wouldn’t have thought to do that. Once healthy, I will also follow your advice for taking the winter cuttings for new shrubs to plant into our back yard next Spring. I hope mine turn out as lovely as yours!
I have standing water in my yard when it rains will the dapple willow suck that up? Or just help slow it down.
I’m looking for an answer to the same question: Will the willow suck up enough water that a very wet area in my yard will cease to be boggy? A little damp is one thing but I need help.
It’s a very hard question for me to answer, without being on your property. I can just tell you about my own experience with Dappled Willow. If you click on my original article, which was the pre-curser to this one, you’ll read all about my rookie gardening mistakes with this plant, as well as a list of Dappled Willow’s attributes and a few things to be aware of.
Dappled Willow seemed to solve the wet area problem for us. These plants LOVE water. Most plants don’t tolerate standing water, which is how boggy some areas can be. For us, maybe having an entire wall of them is what has also helped with the wet areas.
I’d suggest to try one plant. If it seems like it’s working, then cut off some stems and make additional plants. (All of our Dappled Willow plants started as small cuttings from one original shrub we purchased. (A great way to save money!) My 2013 post about Dappled Willow shows how I cut these (by accident) and turned them into shrubs.
I hope this helps!
The dappled willow is my favorite tree. I had no idea it came as a shrub and was so easy to propagate. Thank you for post.
You’re welcome Barbara!
I just got my first dappled willow and am trying to decide where to plant it. Will it grow in the shade?
The color on Dappled Willows is much better when they get enough sunlight. Best bet if you’re unsure is to ask your local garden nursery expert who will know best.
My neighbor has dappled willow trees on both front sides of his home. Hate them! Every time he prunes them I end up with willow remains in my yard, hostas and hydrangeas. He has to prune them at least 5 times a year. A word to your readers….be a nice neighbor and pick up after yourself when you garden and prune. He also has at least 15 peonies between our homes. Again…he didn’t put tomatoes cages around them, they fall over into our yard, blooms laying on the ground, killing the grass and wind blowing dead blooms all over my landscaping. I’m infuriated at gardeners that have no respect for their neighbors landscaping. So be a good neighbor if you plan to garden.
I hear your frustration, Jackie and I completely agree with you! When we prune our Dappled Willows, we don’t leave any mess for anyone else to clean up. And in our front yard, whenever some of our Red Twig Dogwood shrubs start growing “over” our neighbor’s lawn, I’m out there trimming them back. :). I wonder if your neighbor knows to put cages around his peonies? Maybe you could nicely suggest it as a way for them to better enjoy their blooms plus keep them off your grass. Good luck!
This is a repeat of the same message because i forgot to click the reply options below, so sending again….
Thanks for this info! It’s great to see a follow-up any time someone plants something. I just bought three large and three small dappled willow shrubs (about 2 feet and 1 foot tall respectively). Would you say yours caught up in size in a season or two? From just a twig? I was also wondering how wide the raised bed is, that you have them in along that fence. I have about a 4-5 foot space behind a large bed. I need something that gets tall, and am wondering if I could get away with keeping them narrow enough for the space. Also curious if the pink leaves fades away to green later in the season, and what the actual flowers look like?
thanks again!
The bed isn’t really raised — we planted them directly into the ground, then made a border in front of them after that. It looks raised because we have a small paver border sticking out of the ground. 🙂 The pink leaves fade to a pretty cream color. You can scroll up and find the link to my original Dappled Willow blog post to see close-up pictures of what the leaves look like. They are very pretty! Hope you enjoy them!
How far apart are you planting the new dappled willows? I am about to put some in but want to make sure they are not too close. Thanks, PJ
Any new dappled willows we will plant most likely at least 6 feet away from the previous ones, as they grow and fill in quite rapidly when they’re happy.
I’m planning on planting several of these along a fence, for privacy. How far away from the fence should they be planted? How far away from each other?
Thanks!
We planted ours about 3 feet out from the fence line. Most planting experts suggest at least 6 feet between plants for Dappled Willow. Trust me, they will fill in pretty quickly!
We summer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (45 min past the Mackinac Bridge) on a channel of Lake Huron. We have several Dappled Willows that get a lot of sun but would like to try some in an area that only gets about 2 hours of afternoon sun a day (maybe a little more). Will they grow there or can you suggest another plant similar in growth ? Thanks!
Hi Kathy — the best color wil come from your Dappled Willows getting enough sun, so I’m unsure how they would do with just a couple of hours of sunlight per day. This sounds like a good question for your local garden nursery expert, who will know best what works in your particular climate better than I will, and could definitely suggest great alternatives for you to consider. 🙂
Approximately how wide would you say your dappled willow wall is? Great info and pics!
Thanks Erica!
So far, I’d say our living wall of Dappled Willow is around 40 feet wide…and we definitely planted some of those shrubs too close together. It works for us, but we have to do a bit more pruning than we’d otherwise need to do if we had planted them father apart.
Hi Laura,
How far from the fence and distance apart did you plant your nishiki shrubs? I have been growing cuttings from my trees and want to start a long hedge along my neighbor’s 6 foot fence. I have about 80 feet to cover and think that was a great idea you had. Thanks in advance for any information!
Hi Bill,
Most sources seem to suggest at least 6 feet between shrubs. We made some rookie mistakes and a few of ours are planted too close to each other. For us, it’s ok because they all grow into each other — however — when adding additional ones we definitely will space them further apart because of how vigorously these shrubs grow and fill in the space they’re given. The less room you give them, the more you may have to prune them, depending on where they are planted. We love our living wall, by the way, and hope yours works out as well as ours has! Keep me posted!
Hi Laura,
How much work will it take me to get a shrub to grow and be shaped into a tree? Or would I be better off just buying it as a tree? I want it for a front yard so I want it to be “shaped” neatly.
Zack
Hi Zack,
If it was me? I’d definitely buy it as a tree. Much easier, I would think. Dappled Willow DOES take to shaping very easily, so if you wanted to keep it as a vase shape, or a rounded shape, or anything else, you can do it. I just think since these are also sold as a tree form, maybe that’s the best — and easiest — way to go. Let me know how it goes!
What accent plants or small shrubs would you recommend planting in front of the willow shrub?
Hi Eleanor, That’s a difficult question to answer without knowing where you are located, what type of soil conditions you have and what zone you are in. Who WOULD know is your local nursery garden experts. I’d ask them, in order to get the best suggestions for your area.
Also, with Dappled Willow, it depends on how often you want to trim them. As you can see from my pictures, they can grow tall and wide and take up lots of room. If you want to keep them smaller, just know that you’ll have lots of pruning to do throughout the season. (We prune ours about twice each season, sometimes three times, and that’s us keeping them tall and wide too!)
One idea is to cut the bottom branches off the Dappled Willows…keeping the bottom exposed and open. Then you could plant some pretty annuals or perennials in front, as long as they were shorter. For example, coneflowers aren’t going to work well, but something shorter would. Hope this helps!
Thank-you so much for the blog on the Dappled Willows. . . You had a lot of very useful information about the Willows. I just discovered them this year and have purchase three plants for a very wet area of my yard. I am hoping this will help with the water that tends to stand there a few days after it rains.. Behind that area of my yard, a neighbor had a Willow Tree that was cut down last year. It was always wet, but now that the tree is gone it tends to stay wet longer. I am hoping this solve my problem. I was going to go out and purchase more, but after reading your post about starting you own shrubs, I will also try starting my own from a branch as well. Thank-you so much!
Well, thank YOU Beth, for your comment! Yes, definitely try to grow your own cuttings and see if you can produce additional plants that way, as it’s much cheaper than purchasing another plant — plus it’s fun to smile at your success once they grow too! 🙂