Bottle Reforestation With Navajo Willow

8/14/2019 Bottle Reforestation With Navajo Willow

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BOTTLE REFORESTATION WITH NAVAJO WILLOW

Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM

Honorary Professor University of Ghent (Belgium)

Beeweg 36 - BE 9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium)

http://desertification.wordpress.com

http://www.seedsforfood.org

http://containergardening.wordpress.comhttp://zadenvoorleven.wordpress.com

In 1997, a small cutting (25 cm, 10 inches) of the Navajo willow tree ( Salix matsudana) was planted in

my garden in Belgium. Today, my Navajo willow is almost 12 meter high.

Looking for simple methods to make reforestation projects in the drylands more successful (by

limiting irrigation-repetition and enhancing survival rate of the trees in dry climatic conditions), I

started growing willow cuttings in plastic bottles (container gardening). After cutting up a rather thin

branch of the tree in small pieces (8-10 inches, 20-25 cm), I kept these fine cuttings in a glass of water

until they were sufficiently rooted (which is occurring quite quickly with willow cuttings). Then I

planted each of the cuttings in a plastic bottle filled with potting soil.

BOTTLE REFORESTATION

2009-11-06 Navajo willow cuttings in a glass of water 2009-11-20 - Two weeks later all cuttings had rooted


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2009-11-22 - Rooted cutting in a juice bottle with potting soil

2009-11-22 - Juice bottle twice perforated / Two opposite perforations 2,0-2,5 cm above the bottom1 inch (2,5 cm) above the bottom for draining a surplus of water

thus avoiding acidification

of the potting soil.

2009-11-29 - One week after planting

in the bottle (cutting 3 weeks old),

the willow cutting is shooting remarkably well.


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From here off, I let the cuttings develop a strong rootball in the bottle. Numerous absorbing roots are

growing throughout the potting soil, which is easily kept moistened because evaporation is minimal

(small bottleneck) and because at the bottom of the bottle a small quantity of water is stored, up to

the level of the two perforations. From this small water reserve, all the water needed is sucked up by

the potting soil staying permanently moistened. The only minimal volume of irrigation water that has

to be added is the one that is transpired by the leaves.

It is my intention to plant these cuttings when a good number of roots reach the bottom of the bottle

and start curling. At that moment I will cut off the bottom of the bottle at the level of the twoperforations, i.e. at 1 inch or 2,5 cm from the bottom. Taking off that bottom cup of the bottle, I will

set the lower part of the rootball free and a number of young roots will hang out off the bottle.

Now I will plant this young willow tree, bottle and all, in a plant pit, taking care of keeping the upper

part of the bottleneck above the soil surface. The bottle, still containing the major part of the

rootball, will be buried completely except for the top inch of it, popping out of the soil to allow once

or twice additional watering. The bottom part of the rootball, which was hanging out of the bottle,

will now be in direct contact with the soil of the plant pit. Minimal watering through the bottle will

keep those bottom roots moistened, so that they will start growing into the soil. In the meanwhile,

the rootball inside the bottle will be keeping the young willow plant growing.

At the end of the day, the young willow plant will be rooting deeper and deeper in the soil, so that

watering will be less needed. The growing willow stem will finally break up the plastic bottle of which

the small debris will sit for a longer time in the soil.

Knowing that with this bottle reforestation-method survival rate will be significantly higher, the

advantages of booking a total success with this way of reforesting are more important than the fact of

burying some plastic bottles here and there. Anyway, better to bury that plastic than to leave it

littered in the environment.

REFORESTATION WITHOUT PLASTIC BOTTLES

In February 2010, my good friend Marc PILLE took some Navajo willow cuttings home in Belgium and

kept them simply in a plastic shopping bag with 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) of water for two weeks. He

observed that the bigger cuttings (a finger thick) were rooting much quicker than the thinner ones.

Then he took the cuttings to his projects in Mali (Sahel country, West Africa) and planted them

directly in the dry soil of a nursery. He watered them from time to time to keep the soil moistened

and to stimulate more rooting.

Within the first two weeks after planting in the hottest and driest period of the year, a number of

cuttings started shooting already. This shows that the drought-resistant Navajo willow (Salix

matsudana) could be a fantastic tree species to be used for reforestation in the drylands. These first

results indicate that the Navajo willow can be an excellent tool to combat desertification.


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2010 02 - Simple plas

ics pping bag filled with 5-8cm of water

in which the willow c ttings were kept for two weeks

2010-02 - Thin c tting did not start rooting yet.

2010-02 - B

t thicker c

ttings did remarkably well.


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2010-03 - Willow c ttings were planted inside the nursery fenced with wooden poles.

2010-03 - Some of them started shooting within the first two weeks after planting.

2010-03 - The drought-resistant Navajo willow only needs a minimum of moisture in the soil to start budding and shooting.

Very promising for reforestation purposes in the drylands.

Mysincere thanks go to Marc PILLE for his valuable contribution.


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REQUEST

Cuttings of Navajo Globe Willow (Salix matsudana Navajo)

As we are setting up tests with drought-resistant varieties of trees to be introduced in the drylands,

we are looking for small cuttings (20-25 cm, 8-10 inches) of the Globe Navajo willow (Salix matsudana

Navajo). We would be very grateful to receive some cuttings from different origins to compare

drought tolerance.

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Navajo is a very hardy tree, adapted to high desert climates, round-headed upright and fast-growing,

spreading, large, deciduous, long lived tree, medium-sized, 20 to 70 tall and wide.

The tree seems to be sheared into a perfect ball. Its branching habit results in a characteristic globe

shape: a broad, rounded, perfectly symmetrical crown spread of mostly fifty feet. Young 15 tall trees

start showing the rounded crown.

Slender leaves are bright green, lance-shaped, 2-4 long, turning yellow in fall.

Unlike most willows, this variety is popular in high desert and drylands because it is drought tolerant,

adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions

The name of the Navajo variety of the Globe Willow is probably synonym with Umbraculifera.

The Navajo Globe Willow is related to the Corkscrew willow ( Salix matsudana Tortuosa). Cuttings of

this Corkscrew Willow would also be welcome.

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Please send some cuttings to:

Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM

BEEWEG 36

B 9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium)

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Bottle Reforestation With Navajo Willow