Often when I look at shrub plantings that are maintained by contractors, the goat willow (Salix caprea) is able to grow as a woody weed amongst the shrubs and it is either ignored or is given a annual 'prune' with a mechanical hedgetrimmer. Salix caprea is a common weed of nursery plants and may have been present in the pot when the plant was planted out. The seeds of this willow are commonly distributed by wind and the irrigation water of nursery plants that are watered from water from a reservoir. The plant may be welcome in the wild but rapidly swamps shrubs if left to flourish.
The ideal solution is to pull up small seedlings but if the weed is too large to do this, either cut back the willow to ground level and apply an approved systemic weedkiller to the stump or remove it with a mattock or grubbing axe if this is possible. The sooner the weed is treated, the better.
The goat willow needs prompt removal to prevent it becoming a menace in shrub plantings.
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