Osier plant ties

French gardeners like to stick to traditional ways of doing things, even in big public gardens like the Jardin des Bagatelles in the Bois de Boulogne on the western edge of Paris proper. It always amazes me to see the extent to which good old-fashioned hand labor and hand work is used in public gardens and even in all the greenspaces of Paris.

The enormous rose garden in the Jardin des Bagatelles is no exception. No mulch is used; just good old hand cultivation. The extensive collection of climbing roses is hand pruned and trained each winter. The rose canes are tied to their supports using a classic French technique: the knotted willow--or osier--twig. Flexible willow twigs are also used--with exactly the same knot--to train the branches of the 5000 (!) espalieredfruit trees in the Potager du Roi at Versailles.

A gardener at the Bagatelles explained to me one summer day how to make these ties and why they are so good. First of all, the willow ties look natural and discreet, even handsome, as they evoke a bit of simple basket work. But more important, they're sturdy, yet biodegrade naturally after 2 years--just the point when the canes or branches they're used to tie start outgrowing the tie. At this point a wire or plastic tie would start strangling the branch, but a natural willow tie just drops off, a great advantage from the maintenance point of view. And finally, assuming you have a willow handy, the ties are free. All you need to do is go snip some twigs.

The best willows to use for ties are shrub willows, of which there are many species. They provide lots of twiggy growth within easy reach. Willow is used because its supple twigs can be bent sharply without breaking (the same reason it is favored for basket-weaving).

The time to tie up your roses, fruits, and vines with willow ties is now, when neither the plants in need of support nor the willow has leaves. Snip 15-inch-long lengths off the terminals of willow branches. The twigs should be thinner than a pencil.

To use the ties, loop a twig around the supporting nail, wire, or rope and the rose cane. Adjust the ends of the tie so that one is about 3 inches longer than the other. Then twist the ends together about 6 to 8 times, until the rose cane is snugged up against its support. Now take the longer end of the willow twig and bend it back, tucking it under the twisted part of the tie. This anchors the knot. And that's all there is to it. Your rose cane--or fruit tree branch, or whatever--will be firmly anchored for just the right amount of time for it to have become rigid in its new position. Then, just as the growing branch swells against the tie, the willow knot conveniently drops off. And since it's biodegradable, you don't even have to bother to pick it up. Willow ties are a time-tested, elegant solution to supporting climbing plants.

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