Short communicationPlanting microcuttings: An innovative method for establishing a willow vegetation cover

•Planting operations represent up to 70% of establishment costs in willow covers.•Alternative approaches to establishing willow covers were evaluated in this study.•Microcuttings can be used to propagate willows.•The ability to sprout depends both on the species and the size of the cutting.•The use of 5 cm-long microcuttings in combination with mulch was the best solution.

The standard approach to establishing woody species such as willows in phytoremediation and ecological engineering is based on planting either unrooted rods or cuttings. Whether planted by hand or mechanically, this approach is usually time-consuming and expensive, and sometimes results in uncompleted projects. In this short-duration trial, we assessed a new method for propagating two common willow species (Salix viminalis L. and Salix miyabeana Seemen) using microcuttings of different sizes (i.e. 1, 2 and 5 cm-long). Best results were obtained with 5 cm-long cuttings, in terms of resprouting rate (average 100%), number of shoots (average 8.9) and shoot length (average 11.5 cm after 41 days), although there were significant differences according to species, with S. viminalis sprouting faster and better than S. miyabeana. These results, although preliminary, provide a new, more rapid and economical avenue for willow propagation for restoration or other environmental purposes.