Osier

Value to bees

Nectar

Moderate

Pollen

Very high

As a honey crop

Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally

Which bees, and why

Emerging bumblebee queens and early mining bees depend heavily on willow pollen. The vernal colletes is a near-specialist on it, and its enormous dune nesting aggregations exist because willow does.

Worth knowing

A modest nectar source and an outstanding pollen source at the point in the year when pollen matters most — colonies need it for brood, not for stores.

Flowering

In flower

March to April (northern hemisphere)

Very early, and among the first substantial pollen sources of the year.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun on damp to wet soil. It grows in ground too wet for almost anything else and roots readily from a cut stem pushed into the earth.

Size

3-6 m tall as a shrub, and cut to the ground annually in withy beds.

Native range

Europe and western Asia, on riverbank and damp ground, and planted very widely for basketry and biomass.

Suits

Large gardens, Hedgerow, Meadow or wildflower area

Maintenance, and the bit that matters

Coppice regularly or it becomes a leggy thicket. Cutting everything in one year removes the whole flowering, so rotate.

• Plant male clones if the point is pollen for bees — female plants produce nectar but no pollen.
• Coppice on a one to three year cycle for basketry rods, and stagger the cutting so some stems always flower.
• Roots aggressively and seeks water; keep it well away from drains and foundations.

What it looks like

A vigorous multi-stemmed shrub with long straight whippy stems and narrow silvery leaves. Male catkins are yellow with protruding stamens; female catkins are greenish and produce nectar but no pollen.