Can I make a living willow structure from a coloured variety of willow ?
Unfortunately, the whips on our coloured varieties of willow do have a tendency to produce side branches on the longer lengths which is not helpful for making structures, so we do not generally offer long whips of these varieties. Also, it is only the one year old growth that has the bright stem colour in the winter, with the older stem colour becoming duller over time. However, if you would like some colour in your structure, you could order some short cuttings of your selected variety and plant those at, say, 18 inch spacing around the structure and weave in the new growth as it comes. When the leaves fall off in winter you will have a splash of colour – then just continue to weave in the new growth in subsequent years to continue the effect.
