Austrees in Summer time.
We have been growing and selling the austree willow for over 25 years and know more than anyone else how to get them to grow on your property. We do not sell the small pencil cuttings or leafed out cuttings as these have a low survival rate.
These trees are a deciduous fast growing shade or windbreak tree that can grow 6-10 ft per year, and after 7 years top out at 40 ft. No competition from grass and weeds and adequate moisture is necessary for rapid growth.
7 year old austrees, 40 ft tall
One row planted 5 to 10 ft apart will give an effective windbreak, screen and snow catch in just a couple of years. Our favorite spacing in good soil is a double row spaced 8 ft apart in the row and 10 ft between rows. With our 8X10 ft spacing we show a 30% reduction in the wind during the winter with no leaves. They get leaves on in early April and hold them until the middle of Nov. here in Iowa, so offer a great windbreak during this time period. More rows with wider spacing would be even better. A 5-6 ft potted tree will usually be 10 ft tall by the fall of the first year it is in the ground. We sell and plant potted Austrees anytime the ground is not frozen (March-December).
Austrees first coming out in spring
The branches are very flexible and not brittle like other willows so we rarely see any branch breaking in high winds or ice storms (see picture below). They do not spread by suckers or seed like other willows can.
At this time the long-term life of these plants are not known but we have seen some over 25 years old and they still look good. I always suggest planting evergreen trees on the inside of the Austrees so you do have better windbreak protection in the winter and long term. Keep any Austrees least 20 ft from any other windbreak trees to avoid competition for light and moisture. We have shown a 20% faster growth on evergreens planted inside of the Austrees in a windbreak. It appears that the Austrees with there leaves on in the early spring help, by keeping the strong spring winds off of the new growth, protecting the evergreens from wind damage.
Branch structure of Austrees
We also do like to plant an Austree 6 ft from the last evergreen in our windbreak rows and some in the middle of our newly planted windbreak. The buck deer in the fall (Sep- Dec.) will first come into your windbreak and “attack” with their horns these 8ft tall flexible trees and destroy them instead of your valuable evergreens. The following spring and every spring for 5 years, we cut the Austrees off 1 ft from the ground and they will re-grow and be ready in the fall for the next round of buck deer rubs, do this every year. After the evergreens are 10 ft+ tall you can cut off the Austrees used for deer protection, in the fall at ground level, apply roundup to the stump and remove the above ground part from your windbreak. No reason to remove the roots as they will rot away in just a couple of years.
Austrees along with Norway Spruce to protect them from Deer Damage.
Another use for austrees putting them 6ft from each tree in a row of evergreens. The deer will eat and rub on the austrees before going to the evergreens. You still need to keep deer number as low as possible the first 7 years - we use www.stopthedeerdamage.com Every year cut the austrees off 1 ft above the ground on March 15th and let them resprout during the summer, the austrees will usually be about 8-10 ft tall by fall ready for another fall and winter deer destruction season. Usually after about 5-7 years when the evergreen trees are about 12 ft tall you can cut off the austrees at ground level in the fall (Oct 15th - Dec. 15th) and put roundup on the stump and kill the austrees, as your evergreens continue to grow.
Single row of Austrees 3 years old, 25 ft tall blocking sight of hog building behind the Austrees.
Double row of Austrees surround Hog facility.
Austrees with 1 inch of ice on them, they are very flexible and quite strong.
Weather warmed up and 2 weeks later the austrees sprang back up and no branches were broken.
Above picture shows Austrees on left in October and Hybrid Poplars' on Right. Austrees are much thicker, stronger, live longer and hold there leaves longer in the fall.
One of our newest projects is using austrees to pull nitrates from creek water. The roots form right in the water as shown to right in red. We are planting them 10 ft apart along one mile of creek.. They also hold the soil banks from eroding and testing will begin soon to see what happens on Nitrate removal. 8ft cuttings work great on this project
We sell three types of Austrees as we have found these work the best.
A bundle of 100 of our 15” cuttings
The 15" Cuttings are easy to plant 12"deep, slot or small hole, and when given good weed control and average rainfall, usually are about 4-6 ft tall by the end of the first year. If using them for a windbreak after the first year in the spring we suggest you cut them off 3 ft above the ground to get them to "bush" out and give a better windbreak with more branches and leaves down low, do this only once. Normal losses for first year 2-5%.
The Potted ones are easy to plant with an 8" auger. Dig hole 2 ft deep, remove pot, drop in hole and fill in dirt. Cut off 3 ft above ground once after planting if using for a windbreak. Normal losses for first year 0-2%.
Our potted Austrees 1 year old and 6 ft tall ready for planting.
Good weed/grass control (we recommend chemicals) with no competition during the growing season within 3 ft of the stem, is the most important thing you can do to get your Austrees to grow fast. Do not get chemicals on stem of Austrees or plant within 30 days of spraying an area, as it can kill them. Watering is less important, in an average year, we rarely water any new Austrees unless there is a drought. Deer, rabbits, mice and voles love the bark/leaves on the Austrees. It is very important the first three years to mow the area around the Austrees very short going into the fall and winter months to help with this problem.
They will tell you when they need water when the leaves start turning yellow, but you have about two weeks to get them watered after the leaves start to turn. If you start to water them they will become very dependent on it and you will have to keep watering them all summer long-ug-hard work.
Auger used for planting austree cuttings. 1 3/4 inch wide, 24” long, these can be purchased from wwww.greybunny.com or Amazon number GB-6883
Austree Hybrid Willow-
15" Cuttings -prices less than 100 - $2.50 each /100 and over - $1.75 each
Plant cuttings in the spring only after all hard freezes are past. We can ship these up to June 15th. We ship these nationwide, 100 cost about $40 or less to ship. We also have the 36” cuttings.
New for 2024 is our 8 ft cuttings, we have been testing these for several years with great results. Use the drill as shown to the right, drill down 2 ft and push cutting in as far as will go. Do this in April, we have had success of over 90% without watering on good soil. Priced at $10.00 each , due to size cannot be shipped but must be picked up here.
Potted plants work best planted early spring or after Oct 15th. 4'-8' - 1 yr. Potted 1-50 - $20.00 each / over 50 - $16.00 each. These must be picked up here, cannot ship.