Editing Willow (section)

== Cultivation ==
Almost all willows take root very readily from [[cutting (plant)|cuttings]] or where broken branches lie on the ground (an exception is the peachleaf willow (''[[Salix amygdaloides]]'')). One famous example of such growth from cuttings involves the poet [[Alexander Pope]], who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to [[Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk|Lady Suffolk]]. This twig was planted and thrived, and legend has it that all of England's weeping willows are descended from this first one.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leland |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/aliensinbackyard0000lela |title=Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports Into America |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-57003-582-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/aliensinbackyard0000lela/page/70 70] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Laird |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCbC-QQx6iEC&pg=PA403 |title=The Flowering of the Landscape Garden: English Pleasure Grounds, 1720-1800 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8122-3457-2 |page=403}}</ref>

Willows are extensively cultivated around the world.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kuzovkina |first1=Yulia A. |title=Salix: Botany and Global Horticulture |date=2008-04-15 |work=Horticultural Reviews |pages=447–489 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |doi=10.1002/9780470380147.ch8 |isbn=9780470380147 |last2=Weih |first2=Martin |last3=Romero |first3=Marta Abalos |last4=Charles |first4=John |last5=Hust |first5=Sarah |last6=McIvor |first6=Ian |last7=Karp |first7=Angelas |last8=Trybush |first8=Sviatlana |last9=Labrecque |first9=Michel}}</ref> They are used in [[hedge]]s and landscaping.

The high end shopping district of [[Ginza]] in [[Tokyo, Japan]], has a long history of cultivating willow, and is well known for its willow lined streets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motoji.co.jp/blogs/reading/en-ginzas-willow-dyeing|title=Ginza's Willow Dyeing|website=銀座もとじオンラインショップ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ginza.jp/en/event/9829|title=The 12th Ginza Willow Festival|website=GINZA OFFICIAL}}</ref>

=== Hybrids and cultivars ===
[[File:Weeping Willow by Pond.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Weeping willow]], an example of a hybrid between two types of willow]]
Willows are very cross-compatible, and numerous [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]] occur, both naturally and in cultivation. A well-known [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] example is the [[weeping willow]] (''Salix × sepulcralis''), which is a hybrid of Peking willow (''[[Salix babylonica]]'') from China and white willow (''Salix alba'') from Europe. The widely planted Chinese willow ''[[Salix matsudana]]'' is now considered a synonym of ''S. babylonica''.

Numerous cultivars of ''Salix'' have been developed and named over the centuries. New selections of cultivars with superior technical and ornamental characteristics have been chosen deliberately and applied to various purposes. Many [[cultivar]]s and unmodified species of ''Salix'' have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=March 2020 |title=AGM Plants March 2020 |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=9 September 2020 |website=rhs.org |publisher=The Royal Horticultural Society}}</ref> Most recently, ''Salix'' has become an important source for bioenergy production and for various [[ecosystem service]]s.{{Cn|date=June 2023}}

Names of hybrids and cultivars were until recently (2021) compiled<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kuzovkina |first1=Yulia A. |title=Compilation of the Checklist for Cultivars of Salix L. (Willow) |journal=HortScience |date=2015 |volume=50 |issue=11 |pages=1608–1609 |doi=10.21273/HORTSCI.50.11.1608 |s2cid=86246413 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285457884|doi-access=free }}</ref> by a working party of the UN FAO, the [http://www.fao.org/forestry/ipc/69637/en/ International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRAs) for the genus ''Salix'' (willows)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207102758/http://www.fao.org/forestry/ipc/69637/en/ |date=7 December 2018 }}, but it is no longer active.