fallen willow - what to do ?

hello tree lovers
I have a willow that was leaning and leaning in my back garden in Amsterdam and with a heavy storm last week it has fallen over. see pic
what should I do ?
is it savable or should i just cut it down as its not very happy looking
what could I use the wood for , garden ?
any ideas would be great ly appreciated.
kind regards
rosie

Willow should resprout vigorously from the cut stump, so I would go head and chop it up. When it respouts thin the stems to a single trunk so you get a tree rather than a clump.

It isn't very dense wood so will only make moderately good firewood, and then only after seasoning for at least a year. Don't try to burn it this winter as it will be mostly water.

Hi Michael,
thanks for your reply with useful info.
I have somome to help me cut the tree down so I will try to make good use of the wood and get the tree growing again.
regards
rosie

@Rosie...

Willow cuttings will sprout to make new trees and you can use cuttings for making a rooting compound for other cuttings. While you may not have the room or need for 50 additional willow trees, you could sell or trade the extras. I do willow tree pot ups for sale and trade all the time. Mine are all from a very lousy messed up one sent to me when I ordered a sapling online. i have actually been able to reshape it and it is now looking pretty good as well as three of the sprouted cuttings that I have kept.

I think willow is good hugel wood, if you don't mind it sprouting

Yeah, I would cut it off to a stump as Michael suggested but definitely cut some of the younger branches and pot them up (as many as you have space to store!) and once they have rooted, sell them or give them away if you don't need them. Or if you don't want to bother potting them up, then at least ask local gardeners (or freecycle, if you have that in the netherlands?) if they want some - you can saw up and season for firewood all the woody bits, and pot up or give away all this year's (more flexible) growth.

It looks like you have a small yard with lots of neighbours - I would think propagating lots of willow cuttings wouldn't suit you. The stump will regrow anyway - but you might actually be better off with a different tree there; perhaps some kind of fruit tree, which would be easy to keep controlled for size. In my experience willow is a very vigorous grower and too large for a space like that. You'll be perpetually hacking it to keep it to a reasonable size.

Willow is ridiculously easy to grow from cuttings as and when needed - a stick just cut and stuck in the ground will usually root - so anyone who wants to grow willow can stick their own as needed without trouble. You would have trouble shifting a whole batch of willow cuttings.

Be careful cutting up that tree too - branches that bend as it fall have a lot of energy still and can spring back dangerously as they are cut. If you don't know how to handle them seek advice from someone who does - there are specific cutting techniques that can release the tension gently without risking the branch springing back.

Michael, you speak a lot of sense about the rightness of willow in a yard like that, however I disagree about shifting (either selling or giving away) willow cuttings - they fetch good money in the UK! I don't see why it would be any different in the Netherlands, especially in an urban area where a lot of people won't have vast resources of their own.

You could also use the willow but in a different way, using cuttings to create a fence or hedge. These are fast-growing and need to be pruned every year but they make a really nice garden feature - you can even build living willow structures like play dens for children.

Guys,
Thanks for all the advice.
Yes the garden is small and now that the tree is down I have now hired a wood chipper and Im wondering if I can scatter the saw dust on my garden ? could I add anything to make it more beneficial to teh soil ?
regards
rosie

Hi Rosie,

Wood chips are great for the garden.

Take a look at
http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

It is quite long, but very good. We now woodchip as much as we possibly can, and after 18 months are seeing really good benefits.

Thanks Michael,

I watched the movie and I think my garden will thank me.
great stuff !!
Im looking forward to getting that wood chipper going !!

regards
rosie

sooooooooooo....
haev a look a the before and after pics from my first wood chipping experience