Newsletter No. 11 September 2026

Posted on September 10, 2026

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Spring is here, and poplars and willows are starting to bud. It is a good time to check this season’s pole plantings and give young trees the best possible start.

Reminder to keep cattle out of newly planted pole areas for at least two years. Cattle can quickly damage or loosen young poles through rubbing, trampling and browsing before the trees are well established, as do horses and deer. Check guards and fencing now, and start planning a summer re-ram where poles have failed or need resetting.

While you are out on the farm, also look for poles that need straightening, damaged leaders, gaps in planted gullies, and areas where extra planting may be needed next winter.

NZPWRT Strategy

The NZPWRT is pleased to release its new strategy, setting out a clear direction for the years ahead.

The strategy reflects the Trust’s commitment to practical research, strong partnerships, and the continued use of poplars and willows to support resilient farms, healthy waterways, erosion control and thriving rural communities.

It provides a framework for our work in breeding and evaluating new cultivars, sharing knowledge through workshops and demonstrations, supporting regional councils and landowners, and ensuring that the benefits of poplars and willows remain available for future generations.

We look forward to working with regional councils, researchers, nurseries, farmers and catchment groups to turn this direction into practical action. The full strategy can be read here, along with our Annual Plan 2026-27 and Impact Report 2025-26.

Willows in the landscape

Ian McIvor

Few sights lift the spirits in early spring like willow buds bursting into leaf. They green up before most other trees, signal warmer days ahead, and provide an early source of pollen and nectar for busy bees.

By summer, those same trees have formed a leafy canopy: shade for ruminating stock and their shepherds, families beside the river, and spectators at rural cricket matches.

Have you noticed a weeping willow in a paddock trimmed as neatly as a bowling green? Stock clearly enjoy the sweet foliage and young stems. Once they have learned that the sound of a chainsaw means willow fodder, they soon come running. Willows are trees that keep on giving: they can provide rotational browse, shade, soil stabilisation, early bee forage and shelter in exposed places.

Their contribution extends well beyond the paddock. Well-managed willows can help stabilise riverbanks, protect gullies and hillslopes, and reduce erosion during storms. In the right place, they help protect productive land, infrastructure, and the people who depend on it.

This spring, take a fresh look at the willows in your landscape—not simply as trees, but as practical, hard-working assets for farms, waterways and communities.

Bioactive chemicals in poplar and willow

Peter Kemp, Emeritus Professor, Massey University

Poplars and willows contain condensed tannins and phenolic glycosides in relatively high concentrations in their leaves and bark compared with concentrations in pasture species. These chemicals act as pest and disease deterrents and can also have positive effects on livestock. Condensed tannins can improve the uptake of amino acids in livestock resulting in greater growth rates and better reproductive performance than expected from the quality of feed that the stock are eating. Phenolic glycosides include salicin which is metabolised to salicylic acid, basis of aspirin, in the body. The main value to livestock of phenolic glycosides is the glucose they contain is released when willow and poplar forage is eaten.

Experiments by Massey University at Riverside Farm near Masterton showed that sheep and cattle supplemented with willow or poplar forage during summer and autumn exhibited better growth performance and lambing percentage than when only grazing poor quality drought pasture. The improvements were partly attributed to the effects of condensed tannins and phenolic glycosides as the effects could not be explained by forage feed quality alone. The stock were supplemented with daily fresh willow or poplar leafy branches for 10 to 12 weeks while grazing on typical high dead matter drought pasture. Once adapted ewes averaged an intake of 0.25 kg/ewe/day of willow or poplar per day.

Condensed tannins can also assist with managing the parasite burden in livestock with fewer drenches needed when stock regularly browse willow or poplar. Use of browse blocks of willows provides the best results as the forage is above pasture level. Although the condensed tannins in willow and poplar are useful to decrease dags they do not fully control parasites so a complementary drench programme is still needed.

Heifers grazing a willow block

New cultivars put to the test

A new poplar and willow demonstration site has been established on Halcombe Road this winter, giving us a chance to see several recently released cultivars perform side by side in local conditions.

Two poles of each cultivar have been planted alongside ‘Veronese’, included as a familiar comparison cultivar. The site is exposed to strong westerly winds, so it will provide a valuable opportunity to observe establishment, growth, form and wind tolerance over the coming seasons.

The cultivars planted are Ruamai, Hew, Hurst, Rima Waru and Veronese. Below is a brief introduction to these new cultivars.

A number of willows have been planted - Tangoio, Moutere, Taitoko, Awa Awa and Cheltenham on the same property but different location.

A picture says a thousand words…

A Wairarapa farmer, after the deluge of rain back in July commented “that without the planting, I’m sure the whole slope would be one big sheet of slips”.

This photo is a striking reminder of the role of poplars and willows can play on erosion-prone hill country. Severe weather can cause slips and gullies, but well-established trees help bind soil with their roots, slow surface water movement and provide protection across the wider slope.

The value is often more apparent after a storm; where trees have had time to establish, they can help keep more soil, pasture and productive land in place. Strategic planting is not a complete answer to erosion, but it is a practical, long-term investment.

Showcasing … Glenmark (shrub willow)

‘Glenmark’ (Salix myricoides x viminalis) is a shrub willow hybrid.

It is a vigorous, multi-stemmed shrub that typically grows 6-8 metres in height. It is male and bitter leaves and moderately resistant to possum browsing.

‘Glenmark’ leaves are 3-6 cm long, green top and lighter green underneath, and the leaf edge is smooth. It is resistant to leaf rust fungi.

‘Glenmark’ is well suited for soil conservation and river margins as it prefers moister sites. It provides a lower-profile alternative to tree willows, and performs well in cooler high-country conditions. It tolerates acid soils.

Coming up …

Website
We are building a new website and the aim to have it up and running by Christmas.

Workshops
Several workshops are being planned.

• Bio-engineering River Management 16-17 February, Christchurch
• Train the Trainer workshops, sponsored by Te Uru Rākau - dates and locations to be confirmed; workshops are planned for Northland and Horizons regions.

NZPWRT AGM
This is planned for Wednesday 11 November. You can join on line or in person. We will be holding this at the Gisborne Library. The day before, Tuesday, is an all-day field trip with the board which you are welcome to join.