Hullo. For a couple of years we wanted to do a living willow dome. I'm
ready for it. My apple tree is going to the lotty and I'll have enough
room for it now in its place. It's my winter project, or at least one
of them... From what I have read and searched all I find are kits,
sculptures and I think they want my money above all else. As anyone
done one and my questions a- is a matting necessary? Do I really
need 10m of free ground around it? Should I be best growing my own from
cuttings (I'll use the lotty to grow the willows) and coppice it? Is
6ft/8ft branches to do my dome enough, what kind of ties should I be
using and finally can I mix two variety for colours the salix alba
britzensis and the vitellina? Thank yous!

La puce wrote:
Hullo. For a couple of years we wanted to do a living willow dome.
I'm
ready for it. My apple tree is going to the lotty and I'll have
enough
room for it now in its place. It's my winter project, or at least
one
of them... From what I have read and searched all I find are kits,
sculptures and I think they want my money above all else. As
anyone
done one and my questions a- is a matting necessary? Do I really
need 10m of free ground around it? Should I be best growing my own
from cuttings (I'll use the lotty to grow the willows) and coppice
it? Is 6ft/8ft branches to do my dome enough, what kind of ties
should I be using and finally can I mix two variety for colours the
salix alba britzensis and the vitellina? Thank yous!

I never actually got round to it, but the one I planned had no
supports at all -- just the trees themselves, at about one-foot
intervals. They'll need to be a heck of a lot more than 8 feet tall
if you want to get inside the dome, and by the time they get big
enough, the main trunks will have lost their colour. I'd never buy a
kit: just take lots of cuttings (now's the time). I don't see why
there has to be that much space around it.

There's a lot on the Web if you Google "willow dome".

--
Mike.

The message . com
from "La puce" contains these words:

Hullo. For a couple of years we wanted to do a living willow dome. I'm
ready for it. My apple tree is going to the lotty and I'll have enough
room for it now in its place. It's my winter project, or at least one
of them... From what I have read and searched all I find are kits,
sculptures and I think they want my money above all else. As anyone
done one and my questions a- is a matting necessary? Do I really
need 10m of free ground around it? Should I be best growing my own from
cuttings (I'll use the lotty to grow the willows) and coppice it? Is
6ft/8ft branches to do my dome enough, what kind of ties should I be
using and finally can I mix two variety for colours the salix alba
britzensis and the vitellina? Thank yous!

How near the house will this willow dome be? And how near to any drains?

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
How near the house will this willow dome be? And how near to any drains?

Very near to the house - about 3m from house wall and 2m from a wooden
fence (neighbours). The drains are further - I'd imagine 4m side of the
house wall.

I've search google Mike, and my questions are precisely what
organisations couldn't give me, like JPR Willow, Slimlet willow - only
do 'workshop for kids' and sell the kits at 220 squids!! The HDRA have
a very useful fact sheets but the questions I need answered are not in
their doc. Simply Willow are also very expensive and point out to the
Gardeners Wold magazine feature and charge unrealistic prices for their
willows. I don't do 'expensive' - I don't buy much really. I recycle
and I love receiving and giving gifts )

I'm sure someone in here *must* have used willows ...

The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
How near the house will this willow dome be? And how near to any drains?

Very near to the house - about 3m from house wall and 2m from a wooden
fence (neighbours). The drains are further - I'd imagine 4m side of the
house wall.

IMO, dangerously close to both.

I've search google Mike, and my questions are precisely what
organisations couldn't give me, like JPR Willow, Slimlet willow - only
do 'workshop for kids' and sell the kits at 220 squids!! The HDRA have
a very useful fact sheets but the questions I need answered are not in
their doc. Simply Willow are also very expensive and point out to the
Gardeners Wold magazine feature and charge unrealistic prices for their
willows. I don't do 'expensive' - I don't buy much really. I recycle
and I love receiving and giving gifts )

I'm sure someone in here *must* have used willows ...

I don't know - willows aren't housetrained, and undermine foundations,
break into drains, and the roots of some of them will extend a quarter
of a mile to get to water.

Personally, I wouldn't let a willow loose anywhere near the house. Do it
with hazel, perhaps, and set some climbers free over it.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

IMO, dangerously close to both.

I don't know - willows aren't housetrained, and undermine foundations,
break into drains, and the roots of some of them will extend a quarter
of a mile to get to water.

Well I thought so to myself - however, the ground is pretty damp there,
sheltered from the fence and a hedge, which is not a really good thing
as willow like sun, but the sun gets there part of the day. You know,
none of the material given on all those willow dome kits on the net
mention this? None.

Personally, I wouldn't let a willow loose anywhere near the house. Do it
with hazel, perhaps, and set some climbers free over it.

Ho. What a brilliant idea! I have a white pompom rose climbing on the
fence. Huge thing it is now and this year the scent made us dizzy.
Perhaps I could train her on the dome from the fence. But it's really
going beside my initial project ... a living dome!!

I should have married a farmer ... with S P A C E
all around (

The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

IMO, dangerously close to both.

I don't know - willows aren't housetrained, and undermine foundations,
break into drains, and the roots of some of them will extend a quarter
of a mile to get to water.

Well I thought so to myself - however, the ground is pretty damp there,
sheltered from the fence and a hedge, which is not a really good thing
as willow like sun, but the sun gets there part of the day. You know,
none of the material given on all those willow dome kits on the net
mention this? None.

Well, they wouldn't, would they?

Personally, I wouldn't let a willow loose anywhere near the house. Do it
with hazel, perhaps, and set some climbers free over it.

Ho. What a brilliant idea! I have a white pompom rose climbing on the
fence. Huge thing it is now and this year the scent made us dizzy.
Perhaps I could train her on the dome from the fence. But it's really
going beside my initial project ... a living dome!!

You could coppice your hazel (or willow...) and grow a living globe -
but the way to get hazel to do its thing is to have it reaching for a
hole in the canopy, so ideally, you'd plant your ring of hazels (or
willows) and enclose them in a twenty foot tube. A factory chimney would
do, but you'd need to take the top off.

Use all the spare bricks thus released for edging and an apple store.

I should have married a farmer ... with S P A C E
all around (

If I know farmers, he'd apply for planning permission to extend your
dome into a full-sized house.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/