Drying Willow

[jerseygirl]

I have alot of weeping willows about my area and they’ve just got fresh new growth.  I get fresh leaves for Jersey but I’d like to dry some for longer storage.  I’ve left some in the sun before but the leaves all curl and tips go black.  I’m never sure if black stuff is safe.  Has anyone dried their own willow?  Am I better off fast drying it in an oven?

[nikiway]

Is there some way you can put something over the willow as it dries in the sun? I’m not sure how thick it is or how much you’re doing but maybe someone knows a way to keep it straight. I’m not sure about the oven, but maybe someone else does. Sorry, I’m not much help, but maybe there’s some way to keep it straight

[jerseygirl]

Thanks, I’m not really worried about the curling – it’s the black parts etc. I should have wrote that better!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi jerseygirl! I sent off an e-mail to Binky Bunny because she sells the willow in her store and would know better than I (I believe). I know that when I dry my herbs, I tie some twine around the bottom stems and hang it upside down out of the sun. Otherwise, the sun deteriorates the natural oil and bleaches the color out of them. I do not know if this same principal applies to willow for bunny nibbling.

[BinkyBunny]

I dry it out of the sun. Usually in a room or in storage but I also use a fan otherwise the moisture will turn some of the leaves black. There is a ton of moisture in the leaves and so you have to be sure you don’t hang branches too close together. You also can’t easily dry them flat because the side that is laying has a tendency to turn black. It’s all a little tricky. I don’t mind the curling part as happens with drying. I don’t know if the black leaves are good or bad. I just never have used it or sold any that do that.   The bark will end  up turning very dark, and that’s perfectly fine.

You can put them in the oven, but the problem with that is that the outside can quickly become dry and too brittle.  Then the inside still has moisture that can then in turn cause the leaves to go brown.

It takes a long time for them to dry….well,  it takes me a long time to dry them because I usually have 500 branches that are being dried in one place – takes about 10 days.    But I would say, it would take a few days at the least for yours to be fully dry.

Hope that helps.

[KatnipCrzy]

Oh my gosh….imagining the room with 500 willow bundles drying!  My husband has helped me with apple branches- but I store them in pillow cases when I am cutting them- and then I transfer them to a smaller box when I chop them into shorter pieces.  And he has been a good sport about that, helping me cut them off the trees, and then clipping them into shorter lengths.  I can not even imagine the look on his face when I explain the willow process.

I get all my apple branches from my Grandparents farm that is about  5 hours away- and i know they have willow trees.  But I have been occupied enough with the apple trees that I forgot about the willow.  I love to tease my husband and it makes me laugh to think of the look on his face when I explain the however many # of pillowcases that we just filled with willow leaves/twigs need to be hung from bundles in our basement.  I have a feeling I will be buying the willow as opposed to a DIY project. 

Our yard at our house is practically tree-less, we have 2 crab apple trees and that is it.

[BinkyBunny]

Yeah, amazingly it actually takes alot of time and room. This year we just couldn’t do so much, but next year we may have some help to get them back in stock.

[RabbitPam]

jerseygirl,
I also have second thoughts about using willow that is not from your own yard. If they’re lining the streets of town, or in a public park, they may be getting sprayed as well so they grow. You know your own trees won’t have bug spray, but you can’t be as sure about plantings elsewhere.

Lots of folks in the Berkshires of Massachusetts would dry their own plants and flowers to keep arrangements in the winter. It wasn’t unusual to walk into a shop or someone’s art studio and be under a ceiling covered with upside down hanging flower stems. Really pretty, actually.

[BinkyBunny]

Rabbitpam made a good point. Also, depending on if it’s a busy street or not. I know I wouldn’t grab anything from the city – gas fumes etc.

I travel about an hour and half out of town to nice wide open farm country area, and we have an agreement with the owner of the willows. They don’t spray pesticides or use any chemicals nearby. I cut them and bring them home to dry.

[Beka27]

wow! just an additional thank you to BinkyBunny for what she does to ensure that our fur friends have access to the best stuff available!

YOU ROCK!!!!!

[Scarlet_Rose]

I can not even imagine the look on his face when I explain the willow process.

LOL  Yes it is labor intensive and you really need lots of room. 

[MooBunnay]

Bri and I cut down some willow leaves at his parent’s house, and we dried it by hanging it on hangers in a closet (we were in an apartment so we didn’t have an outdoors). It seemed to work pretty well and the buns loved it

Does willow have to be dried in order for bunnies to eat it or can they eat fresh willow?

[jerseygirl]

Thank you ALL so much! Better get started! I feed Jersey fresh willow every other day with no probs. She loves it! Dried is good for when the leaves drop. Seems the willow has new growth very quickly though.

The willow I pick runs along a creek. I tend to avoid picking from the side exposed to the road. I haven’t seen any affects of the trees being sprayed. They are considered a weed in my state as they need lots of water and we don’t have that! I have a friend who has a big tree in her backyard so guess I’ll be paying her more visits!

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