Basket making and Willow

I have pollarded all of our willows and now I'd like to know if I can still use these wands for basket making throughout the year.  Or can you only use them when they have just been fresh cut?

They can be used dried, but it's easier to work with fresh ones.

soak them in hot water if they are dried before using them

My understanding is that the baskets will be better - more durable - if the willow is dried and then resoaked. This is because the wands will shrink slightly as they cure, so the basket will lose the tightness of weave if they are woven fresh. Rehydrating makes them supple again (but presumably not bigger diameter). You can soak in cold water overnight apparently, I don't think it needs to be hot.

The willows can also be more brittle fresh—I notice they crimp and break that way.