Salix Boydii (Boyd's Willow)

[amatbrewer]

On impulse I picked up a small Boyd's Willow yesterday (shhh...don't tell my wife!).
The small foliage and reported habit of "gnarly branch structure" has me intrigued. It is pre-pre-pre-bonsai (basically a small cluster of sticks coming out of a root ball) but could be fun to play with. Worst case, if it lives, it might make a nice accent plant.
I saw some old messages mentioning these (mame contest?) and was looking for any insight, tips, or experience others may have.

• I have been reading up on it and see some discrepancies in the how well it might tolerate my (7a) cold/dry winters. One source said "Zone 4", while another says "Zone 4-7", and the tag it came with said it can withstand -30F?!?!
• I have no idea how well (if?) it will handle my hot & dry (single digit humidity) summers. Aren't willows normally found around water?
• I have heard willows are hearty and quite tolerant of abuse. (sure hope that is true of this one)
• The young branches on mine look kind of waxy, almost succulent like, so I am unsure if wiring is appropriate (will it harden off?), or if this is more suitable to grow-n-clip styling.
• As I understand it this is very slow growing material. (Just what an impatient person like me needs. -ugh-)

 

[penumbra]

The Boyd's Willow is an Alpine plant I believe. It was found in Scotland at higher and drier elevations. It is a tiny little plant that gets about a foot tall. It has very small internodes and is I believe better suited for clip and grow. I would not keep this one too wet. I think I made that mistake and its leaves all turned black and dropped off. If is recovering with new normal leaves but it is not as iron proof as you might suppose.

 

[amatbrewer]

Since there seems to be so little information available for boydii willows I am going to try to add to this with my learning/experience.

We had a rather mild winter and some early warm weather, with a number of my trees pushing buds quite early (we still get some nights well below freezing so it is kind of a stressful time).
Last fall (as @penumbra found) my willow did seem to react negatively to being kept too wet, so when I noticed buds starting to swell I re-potted it into a colander with an entirely inorganic mix (Oil-dry, pumice, and a little perlite). I also removed some unwanted material, put one of the cuttings into a similar mix, and put the cutting with my tropicals (indoor greenhouse with bottom heat). The buds on the tree outside are showing only slight swelling, but after about 3 weeks the cutting has leaves opening up and looks quite vigorous. I removed it from the pot and found a surprising amount of roots, some over a inch (2.5 cm) long!

These seem somewhat rare, and the ones I have found are rather expensive. So if these are this easy to propagate, I plan on doing a bunch more! If nothing else they will make some nice accent and/or landscape plants.

 

[Reload0]

Ama

I just picked up a boydii at a local garden center myself and am in the same boat as you. Annoying there is a lack of information available and no reliable sources to get more if we screw up in the US. Any luck propogating your current one yet? Im a little nervous about doing it myself with the lack of availability in the area. Following this thread would be open to exchanging any information I find out as I go along!

 

[penumbra]

I have 2 of them I got early last year. One is almost exactly the same size it was when purchased and the other is smaller, this with dieback and new growth. I started one from cutting last year for a friend and it died.
I have no idea what these like but I don't have it.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Ama

I just picked up a boydii at a local garden center myself and am in the same boat as you. Annoying there is a lack of information available and no reliable sources to get more if we screw up in the US. Any luck propogating your current one yet? Im a little nervous about doing it myself with the lack of availability in the area. Following this thread would be open to exchanging any information I find out as I go along!

Uproar heard clear cross the Valley at news of your arrival, traveler! Rest your aching bark ‘mongst the Woody Dwarves of the Tiny Forest!

I do not know of these specific salix...

A SLOW-growing willow sounds quite unique indeed..

These are the Salix I can access easily.



Pleasure to make your acquaintance, @Reload0 .

Also, @amatbrewer , ...(also).. can we SEE them?

I like trees.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

I've had this one for a couple of years now. Slow growing, wintered outside with everything else.

 

[Reload0]

@Bonsaidoorguy Ahhh man that looks so cool!!! and is exactly what I envisioned for what I am looking for in the future! If you don't mind me asking, what soil mixture are you using for it? Also whats your watering schedule look like? Seems like everyone I come across who has a Boyds Willow is in Seattle, does that mean it likes constant moisture? Any info would be awesome! Thanks for the help thus far everyone.

Also here you go @HorseloverFat its got a long long way to go but this is my starting point so far!

 

[HorseloverFat]

@Bonsaidoorguy Ahhh man that looks so cool!!! and is exactly what I envisioned for what I am looking for in the future! If you don't mind me asking, what soil mixture are you using for it? Also whats your watering schedule look like? Seems like everyone I come across who has a Boyds Willow is in Seattle, does that mean it likes constant moisture? Any info would be awesome! Thanks for the help thus far everyone.

Also here you go @HorseloverFat its got a long long way to go but this is my starting point so far! View attachment 316369

Ooooh! It’s alREADY got a very interesting structure.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

@Bonsaidoorguy Ahhh man that looks so cool!!! and is exactly what I envisioned for what I am looking for in the future! If you don't mind me asking, what soil mixture are you using for it? Also whats your watering schedule look like? Seems like everyone I come across who has a Boyds Willow is in Seattle, does that mean it likes constant moisture? Any info would be awesome! Thanks for the help thus far everyone.

Also here you go @HorseloverFat its got a long long way to go but this is my starting point so far! View attachment 316369

Thanks, yours looks great, it should fill out next year quite a bit. I get my soil from the local bonsai nursery by the sandbag, they mix it themselves. Pretty sure it's pumice, lava, and pine bark. It holds up well here in the NW. The pot that it's in is a drip tray that I drilled holes in. It sits on my bench so it's checked daily and since it's in such a shallow pot it usually gets watered unless it's pouring rain, or winter while it's dormant. Last year a bird , either a Crow or a Stellar Jay they both hang around, tried to yank it right out of that little pot. Thank goodness I had that sucker wired in. It sat with bare roots for part of a day before I saw the damage and repotted. It didn't even care. I've had a little die back but it just means I'll keep more new shoots.

 

[Reload0]

Thanks, yours looks great, it should fill out next year quite a bit. I get my soil from the local bonsai nursery by the sandbag, they mix it themselves. Pretty sure it's pumice, lava, and pine bark. It holds up well here in the NW. The pot that it's in is a drip tray that I drilled holes in. It sits on my bench so it's checked daily and since it's in such a shallow pot it usually gets watered unless it's pouring rain, or winter while it's dormant. Last year a bird , either a Crow or a Stellar Jay they both hang around, tried to yank it right out of that little pot. Thank goodness I had that sucker wired in. It sat with bare roots for part of a day before I saw the damage and repotted. It didn't even care. I've had a little die back but it just means I'll keep more new shoots.

Thats excellent news that it survived the attack! I am picking your brain about your routine because it looks so healthy! Also asking because my guy seems to be turning a little bit with this summer heat. After repotting (about 5 days ago) I have been watering everyday around 5am and giving the leaves a little mist before I head to work. Even with that, leaves are starting to brown and fall off in some areas and the green shoots are hardening into the brown "bark." Just unsure if I should be worried or if this is natural this time of year. Temp is about 80-90 outside right now with humidity fluctuating everyday between 40-80% depending on rain schedule. I would say direct sunlight hitting it from 2pm-dusk. Am I freaking out prematurely, or is it warranted? Any words of wisdom for me?

 

[penumbra]

Salix × boydii - Plant Finder

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Thats excellent news that it survived the attack! I am picking your brain about your routine because it looks so healthy! Also asking because my guy seems to be turning a little bit with this summer heat. After repotting (about 5 days ago) I have been watering everyday around 5am and giving the leaves a little mist before I head to work. Even with that, leaves are starting to brown and fall off in some areas and the green shoots are hardening into the brown "bark." Just unsure if I should be worried or if this is natural this time of year. Temp is about 80-90 outside right now with humidity fluctuating everyday between 40-80% depending on rain schedule. I would say direct sunlight hitting it from 2pm-dusk. Am I freaking out prematurely, or is it warranted? Any words of wisdom for me?

I water in the evening, but only because I leave so early in the morning for work. Mine gets dappled sunlight all day, under the shade of some taller trees. It's only been in the eighties a few times so far this year so heat isn't an issue for me. But definitely in the shade.

 

[Reload0]

Gotcha, thank you for the advice! I actually found a local shop with 1 Boydii in a greenhouse that looked like it was doing alright, but not in the greatest of shape. The positive thing was that it had more growth than mine but its leaves looked like it was suffering from the same ailments as mine. Made me feel a little better that it may not have been anything I was doing. I took your advice and found a soil mix pretty darn close to the one you described w/ pine bark, pumice and clay (couldn't find any lava unfortunately). Much lighter than the soil it was potted in from nursery and drains much faster. Fingers crossed! Thank you so much for wisdom on the plant!

 

[Dylan Schultz]

This is my Scot's Willow. It is a very interesting tree and quite unique. I've never met anyone with one of these and I'm not sure how to prune it. I've enjoyed "getting to know it" over this last year. Its more of a small tree/shrub in a pot than a true bonsai at this point. I'm on the West Coast of Canada and it seems to be doing well here.

 

[HorseloverFat]

That is a COOL Salix!

 

[0soyoung]

My salix 'Boydii' is a mini.



Indeed, it is slow growing.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

View attachment 316114I've had this one for a couple of years now. Slow growing, wintered outside with everything else.

An updated picture of my Boyd's willow.

 

[HamburgerTrain]

Here’s mine! I just got it last fall. Ill reduce the root ball and put in smaller pot eventually.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I'm sold.



Too bad OP isn't active anymore..

One of ya'll with these amazing Salix species could start a thread on them...

You could do it in my club forum
.. we have a lot of specific species studies...

Quite a few Salix, as well.