Travis Davis

D Tucholske wrote:I mostly just go for native plants. Nurseries I've bought from in the US include Prairie Moon Nursery, Outsidepride, Seedville USA, Hobbyseed &, more recently, Leaves for Wildlife. I've also gone through independent sellers on Etsy, which is good, if you can get a decent price. You might be able to get seaberry through Hobbyseed, but I'm not 100% sure, as I've never looked them up. The rest wouldn't sell it, as they primarily focus on natives, whereas Hobbyseed seems to focus on plants with landscaping or economic value. They ask you pay using PayPal, though I've ironically found that it only forces you to use PayPal if you actually make an account. Going to the checkout as a guest, it's not a requirement.

this is great information! Thank you.

Toko Aakster wrote:Fellow Kentuckian!


1) what are some species that would do well in our zone?

First suggestion is Narrowleaf Willow - also known as Coyote willow, dusky willow, or gray willow. Salix exigua. It's kinda shrubby, great for making poles or weaving, and amazing drought and flood tolerance. Unfortunately it's considered endangered or threatened in some parts of the eastern USA, so you'll likely have to look westward for a seller....but getting a bigger population here would probably be beneficial.

Second suggestion is Black Willow. It's delighted to live in wet-feet conditions, and has adaptations to thrive in regular floods and poorly draining areas. It's also a little more drought-resistant than many willows. The growth will be stunted during a drought, but it's less likely to die completely. Native to kentucky.

My next suggestion would be the American Pussy Willow - Salix discolor. Also native to Kentucky, does well in moisture-heavy soils, loves full-sun but tolerates some shade, dislikes dry conditions, but probably won't die from it. Attracts pollinators like crazy, and is a caterpillar host to native butterflies.  American Pussy willow also tends to grow a bit slower in hot weather - it prefers zone 5 and 4, but will do fine in zone 6 and 7, provided there's enough water.
(Not to be confused with Goat Willow, Salix caprea, which is also often called 'pussy willow' but is native to Asia and Europe. )

Yellow Willow is also a native willow that should do well in kentucky, but unfortunately I don't know much about it.


I would NOT advise weeping willow or desert willow.
Weeping willows really need to be snugged up against an actual body of water to thrive - they need SO MUCH water. And desert willow will die if the soil is heavy & wet for too long.
Feltleaf willow, Bebb's willow, and Peachleaf willow are best left to the northern climates, like alaska and canada.


2) do you have any suggestions on where would be the best place to get willows either via cutting or potted plant?

I do not have any suggestions for specific places to buy. Good luck though!

This is great information thank you! What part of KY are you located?

Tyler Ludens wrote:I believe Edible Acres in New York state sells sea berry and many other cuttings.

I’m aware of them, I buy things from them frequently. Just don’t want to buy them out of stock since they’re a smaller local nursery for NYS. Thanks for the tip.

What is everyone’s favorite nurseries for permaculture plants? I’m looking for herbaceous perennials that I can either start from seeds or cutting. I would also like to find some good sea berry options. Any information that can be provided on the matter would be useful. I’m sure someone has already posted about this way back when so if someone could link that thread here that would be awesome. Hope everyone’s growing season is going well. Be sure to drink lots of water thru this heat spell.

Hello,

Our plot is zone 6B northeast Kentucky.  I’m interested in planting some willow in spots around our farm that are overly wet in locations through the year and I have some questions.

1) what are some species that would do well in our zone?

2) do you have any suggestions on where would be the best place to get willows either via cutting or potted plant?

Thanks in advance

Steve Thorn wrote:I also wouldn't thin them either as long as there is enough room.

Even if there wasn't enough room I'd still probably let them grow, I admit I'm a plant genetics hoarder, and want their to be as many opportunities for genetic diversity as possible to hopefully strengthen the next generation.

I usually let my plants go and the strongest survive on their own. Sometimes the late starters will catch up to the first plants and be even better so I always hate to cull them until I get a better idea of how they will do. My thinking too as far as developing squash landraces, is that it's better to have a lot of seedlings with a few squash on each one than to have a few plants with a lot of squash on each plant. If the plant is able to produce a crop the first year I want to let it, that way I have more options to select for when creating the landrace for the future!

This is great info Steve. Unfortunately I had already culled to 50% on 3 of the 4 mounds. Oh well. I guess I will know for the future! Thank you.

Diane Maldonado wrote:Hello. I see this post is 4 years old up to 8 months ago. Is there any interest still. I work in Lexington and soon to be living in Corinth. I took a Permaculture Design class, did an apprenticeship on cob building and am starting my own homestead as well as teaching others how to build their own cob home. I am almost finished with my pole barn which I will live in until I can build my dream house...cob/strawbale hybrid. I'm also working on a rocket mass heater. If anyone wants to connect, share ideas and help each other I'm all for it! Please let me know. Good luck to everyone!!

I’d love to connect with like minded folks in the central KY area. I see that your post is three years old, but hopefully the offer still sits.

So I’ve got 4 seeds planted in mounds that are approximately 1 ft in diameter. At what point would you thin and down to how many per mound and why?

Jan White wrote:

Travis Davis wrote:

Sounds like the plant that was a hit for the aphids would have been culled from the yard at my place. What made you keep it?

Part laziness, part curiosity. I like testing my plants to see what they can take. Also, if the aphids were hanging out on that plant rather than something else that maybe couldn't handle it as well, that has value.

Interesting thought that I had never considered. Thanks for sharing! I’ll update on my babies in a month or two.

Jan White wrote:
I'm not worried about a lack of visual variation. I can tell it's a resilient plant, cause it does really well for me and I'm super mean to my stuff. I've tried to grow kale for years in three different places, all with different conditions. The plants always end up spindly and sad, completely coated in aphids. Not these guys. I had one plant last year, a bad aphid year, that got a lot of aphids on it. The rest of the plants had some, but nothing crazy. I abondonded the aphidy plant to its fate, but it just kept being big and healthy, no matter how many aphids were on it.

Hopefully I have a little more visual variation. I was hoping that they’d be able to add some aesthetic value looking at the variations promoted on the site. If not oh well though. I just want to find something that does well in my environment but I’m planning to select for visual variation and a squattier bush shape.

Sounds like the plant that was a hit for the aphids would have been culled from the yard at my place. What made you keep it?