Is Willow A Good Tree For Bonsai?

Willow is one of those species where there are actually a few different varieties and they can all look very similar, this is not helped by the fact that they can very easily cross pollinate and form hybrids.

It is also one of the most easily propagated species from cuttings, so a lot of trees are started this way, meaning that not everyone knows exactly what species they have.

I took a little cutting from a tree in a park … I don’t think that is actually allowed, but it’s a bit late now.  This means I don’t exactly know what my willow is. I just know it is as some sort of “weeping willow.” You can see its development in my Willow Bonsai Progression.

Is Willow A Good Species for Bonsai?

When it comes to bonsai, willow is like the student who has all the potential, but puts no effort in. They should be amazing for bonsai, but they don’t quite make the cut. They have a lot of attributes that make them very appealing, but an equal number that make them awful for bonsai.

In short, they like to just die back for no reason. You can spend years developing your branch structure only for it to die back. When you are trying to keep a tree long term, this can be very problematic.

Is Willow Foliage Good For Bonsai?

When it comes to foliage, the willow is okay. It’s not perfect but if you are making medium to large size tree it will work pretty well.

Leaf Size

The leaf size isn’t too bad. The willow has long, but narrow leaves and they do seem to reduce slightly, but not amazingly.

Due to the fact they are very narrow makes them not look at large as they could be and if you see them on a tree that is slightly larger they can look very in proportion.

I haven’t actually seen any super small willows and I am sure the leaf size is one of the reasons why I have not seen one an why they tend to be slightly larger bonsai.

Internode Length

The internodes on willows can get quite short. This should mean that you can build very tight ramification… but it doesn’t always work out like this. The tree grows fast so areas can swell very quickly and I have found that where I have had small internode gaps, the area swells and then almost merge into one clump. This then makes it look like you have multiple branches from one spot. So they you have to remove from branches and that ramification is lost. 

Is A Willows Growth Rate Good For Bonsai?

Willows grow at a phenomenal rate. New shoots will very quickly shoot off and they are also quite fast to thicken. This is of course great, but it does mean it can be hard to control. Our goal is to keep the tree small, so if it’s constantly fighting against this it is not ideal.

Trunk development can be quite easy on willows, the problem comes when you want to build fine ramification.

Response To Pruning

Willows will respond very well to pruning. Pruning will encourage a lot of new growth and you will often find multiple shoots growing from one spot.

Back Budding

Willow will back bud like crazy. Every time you prune them you will get a ridiculous amount of back buds activating. They will reshoot all along the branch and even on the trunk. It is almost more of a problem than it is a benefit. You are going to be constantly removing shoots you do not need.

Willows will very easily drop branches. They just die for no real reason. From what I have seen I am fairly confident that it is not the pruning that causes this. I have pruned some branches and they reacted fine, and others not so much. However, I am more inclined to believe that it’s the cold weather causing the problem. I have had most of my die back over winter, but you could maybe argue that the pruning earlier in the season is somehow related to their trouble in winter, although I’m not too sure.

Ramification

You can build ramification on willows but the constant back budding and multiple shoots are both a blessing and a curse. You will need to stay on top of the tree and make sure any unwanted shoots are removed. It can be very easy for a number shoots to grow in one area and cause swelling. This then means you need to cut that area back, and lose your ramification.    

Is A Willows Styling Ability Good For Bonsai?

Willows can be styled fairly easily, but they have two major issues. The first one is being able to grow them in a way that will allow you get that weeping look. They are very easy to grow as an upright tree but there are only a very few examples of a good weeping style willow bonsai. I really feel like you need to grow the tree quite large before you can start to train it to weep. I still haven’t got to this point myself, so time will tell if I am right.

The second and more worrying problem with willows is the fact they will drop branches for no reason. You can spend a couple of years trying to grow out a branch only for it to die. Having this happen is very annoying but can also totally change the look of a tree and can totally force you to change up your styling plan. This can make owning a willow long term an issue. You are going to struggle to make progress if you keep finding 10 years of development suddenly dies over night for no real reason.

Wiring

Willows can be easily wired. You need to do this when then shoots are quite young as they can become pretty stiff once they have thickened. They also thicken pretty quickly, so you need to make sure you wire them while you can still bend them and you then need to pay attention to them and make sure the wire does not cut in. 

Is A Willows Fall Colours Good For Bonsai?

Individually the leaves are nothing special. They sort of turn yellow with brown spots and are kind of ugly, however, if you take a few steps back and look at the tree as a whole, it looks great. It will turn this sort of interesting yellow colour and the younger shoots that are not a woody colour yet also seem to change colour too, ranging from yellows, reds and oranges.

Is A Willows Winter Silhouette Good For Bonsai?

The winter silhouette can be actually pretty good. As I’ve just mentioned the shoots can take on some interesting colours and you can really enjoy these reds, yellows and oranges over the winter period. It is a very nice change to the usual brown branches you see on all the other trees.

Is A Willows Bark Good For Bonsai?

The bark on willows is quite thick and craggy. It is also really cool to watch a young trunk turn from yellow to a silvery grey colour before slowly starting to become more textured over the years.

Deadwood Opportunities

While dead wood is not ideal on deciduous trees, with a willow you are probably going to get some. I have found it is very easy to spot the dead parts as it turns almost black. I have just cut it back and left it to rot away naturally, but you could speed this up by carving it away.

Willows are quite craggy and areas of rot and hollows actually really suit them, so although it is frustrating when things die back you can use them to your advantage going forward. This also means any wounds you make will heal over in time. They will start to blend in with the bark and very easily become unnoticeable.

Are Willows Roots Good For Bonsai?

A willows ability to grow roots is probably unrivaled. They contain a hormone that is just perfect for root growth. You will actually find a lot of rooting hormone powders in shops are actually made from willow.

This means you can pretty much take any piece of a willow tree and place in water and it will root. It’s kind of crazy how easily they will root.

This also means you can hack away at the roots and they will just keep growing. You could probably remove every since root and the tree would live. The roots grow equally as fast as the top, so you will be need to repotting a willow quite often. That isn’t really too much of a problem since it can happily handle the work.

However, the roots like to be wet. This is kind of the opposite of most trees. Most trees will end up getting root rot if they are too wet, where willows seem to actually need to be sat in water. This can make it nearly impossible to kill them as you can’t over water them. If you think where they grow in nature, it is pretty much along the banks of river, so it makes sense that they like to have their toes wet.

It also unconfirmed, but kind of believed that making sure they are always sitting in water will reduce the chance of branches suddenly dying back. It does make sense in theory. If they are lacking in water they might just drop a branch and try to focus what little water they have into one section of the tree, rather than trying to support the whole system. I keep my tree in a bowl of water, but I still die back at the tips, so I’m a little unsure if the water helps, but I think it’s certainly not hurting the tree.

Are Willows Easy To Care For As Bonsai?

Willow is the type of trees that basically needs no real care. So long as they have plenty of water they are going to live and grow very strongly. You will get crazy root growth and an extreme number of shoots all over the tree.

However, no matter how badly, or how well you look after the tree, they will still cause you trouble with the random die back.

For more information, you can read my Willow Care Guide.

Conclusion

Willows are nearly perfect for bonsai, but they just cause too many problems. The fact they back bud a little too much, as well as randomly dropping branches, it just makes them difficult to use in bonsai.

I would not go out of my way to buy one, but if you happen to get hold a cutting, they are certainly worth the fun. You can really do a lot with them, but I think you need to go into them with the mindset that it’s going to be a disaster. You need to know that all your hard work might be set back over night with the death of a branch. If you can prepare yourself for that you will enjoy the tree. If you are looking for more reliable results, I would stay well clear of the weeping willow and try something else.