I know you can plant willows from cuttings, but what about weeping willow trees? Can they be grown from a cutting (by an amateur)? If so, how?
Following is a suggestion from American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation, ed. by A. Toogood, 1999, p. 89.
“The most reliable method for propagating weeping willow (Salix babylonica) is by cuttings. Hardwood cuttings of vigorous willows may be as long as 6 feet and planted out immediately to mature faster than standard 8 inch cuttings. Take cuttings in late autumn from new, fully hardened wood that does not need to be very woody. Line them out in open ground, pot them, or place them in bundles in a frost-free sandbed to root. Select those in active growth in spring to pot. Cuttings may also be taken of green or semi-ripe wood. “
Here is additional information (no longer available online) from a British nursery called JPR Environmental:
“The best way to propagate weeping willows is first to find a mature tree that you like the look of and then go and ask the owner if you could take a small branch from it in the winter (most are happy to oblige and will tell you about their tree in great detail!).
“Once a source has been identified then look to prepare the ground. Make sure that the site is not near the house and not near any old water pipes etc. – it would be a shame to have to cut it down just when it is getting a good size. A site near water is good, willows like moist soil but do not do well in soil that is waterlogged for long periods. Dig a square pit say 18 inches wide and deep. Break up the soil and add some compost if the soil structure needs it.
“Now is the time to take a cutting. The best time of year is whenever the leaves are off the tree with the optimum being February to early March – so long as there is not a hard frost on the ground. The branch should be between 1 and 2 inches at the base and not more than 6 feet tall. Plant it in the hole that you have made, firming up the soil so that you cannot pull the branch out. If you are in a windy site it may be worth staking the tree and a rabbit guard will protect it from grazing in the first year or so.”