Eastern Slopes Rangeland Seeds - Willow Stakes
ESRS has been harvesting and producing willow stakes for bioengineering projects since 1985
Since 2013 we have supplied over 250,000 willow stakes for various bio-engineering projects in western Canada. When selecting a supplier for willow stakes it is critical to the success of your project to evaluate a number of factors that will have a signficant impact on the success of your project: Qualifications and Technical Knowledge, Experience, Technology and facilities, and quality control processes.
Live willow stakes that are processed and ready to ship to cold storage
Qualifications and Technical Knowledge:
We provide unmatched technical skill to the native plant materials industry in western Canada. When we say we are professionals, we mean it. We have on staff three professional Agrologists who manage our operations and lead harvesting crews. In addition, we have specialists in horticulture, land reclamation, plant taxonomy, wildlife, wetlands among other environmental disciplines. Our team is filled with award winning plant taxonomists (Alberta Emerald Award, Society of Range management Plant ID awards, ASTECH Finalists...). This allows our team to go beyond any other in guaranteeing that our clients receive exactly what they order.
In addition to our qualifications regarding taxonomy our team has trained horticultural specialists as well as professionals with training in plant physiology, plant propagation, and diseases.
Loading of unprocessed live willow stakes for shipping back to the nursery for processing and storage
Experience
As a dedicated native plant producer with over 30 years experience serving western Canada we have extensive experience in storage and propagation of live cuttings and willow stakes. we have been experimenting with propagation of native plants since the mid 1980's and have successfully propagated over 200 species of native plants. Our crew leads all have extensive experience in harvesting techniques and storage techniques of live cuttings allowing us to provide our clients with the highest quality products.
Technology and Facilities
We support our technical knowledge with one of the largest native plant nurseries in Alberta. We employ numerous technologies within our facility to increase the efficiency and quality during the harvest and storage process. This includes unique harvesting equipment, Storage techniques and treatment techniques for willow stakes. Our freezing system employs two methods (freezing cuttings in a storage facility below -2oC) or packing live stakes in snow which is an old but effective method that allows willow stakes to stay moist and frozen. We also have developed our own system of soaking tanks that allow us to soak live stakes in rooting hormone prior to delivery.
Our live willow stakes are typically supplied in 0.5m, 1m, 1.5m or 2m lengths although we supply willow stakes in any size requested. Our willow stakes are sourced from our extensive network of partnering land owners across western Canada allowing us to maintain a sustainable harvest system that does not result in over harvesting of environmentally sensitive areas.
For summer installations we provide our clients with multiple options that can maximize willow survival. we have a unique rooting system found no where else in the world that allows us to root willow stakes effectively for July-September installations. The advantage of this system is that our clients recieve rooted stakes that have leaves on them and have a much higher survival rate than a live stake installed in any other way during mid summer to early fall.
Sandbar Willow stakes being harvested and placed into frozen storage at the ESRS nursery
Species and Sizes of Live Stakes
Our Alberta Supply of willows and other appropriate species for bio-engineering include the following species and lengths. Other lengths and species are available depending on your project location.
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Lengths |
| Salix exigua | Sand bar willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix petiolaris | Basket willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix maccalliana | Velvet fruited willow | 0.5m to 1.5m |
| Salix bebbiana | Bebb’s willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix discolor | Diamond willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix lutea | Yellow willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix planifolia | Diamond Leaf Willow | 0.5m to 2m |
| Salix lucida* | 0.5m to 2m | |
| Cornus stolonifera* | Red osier dog wood | 0.5m to 1.5m |
| Populus balsamifera | Balsam popular | 0.5m to 3.5m |
*Note the marked species are found in extremely limited supplies in Alberta of typically less than 1000 plants able to be harvested annually.
Sand bar willow cuttings being bundled for shipping back to the ESRS nursery for processing and storage
Typically, we produce up to 30,000 live stakes in each of our spring and fall harvesting runs.
Other Services
Bioengineering Services
If you have challenges in installation of design of bioengineering projects our professional Agrologists and Biologists in our partnering company, TCS (Tannas Conservation Services Ltd.), can provide detailed design and installation techniques or even guide installation of live stakes. Our processional team can provide professional signoff, obtain regulatory approvals, complete tender packages / drawings, provide environmental inspection and monitoring services.
Live Stake Installation in a Bioengineering Project within the City of Calgary by TCS, Willows Supplied by ESRS
Establishment of the willow stakes in the first two years after installation of the brushlayer
Planting Services
In addition, we have highly trained installation teams who can support with live plant and willow stake installation services for our clients. Our team can support your project by providing experienced field personnel who can install bioengineering features and our professionals are able to guide the installation services to meet any requirement.
Planting Live willow Stakes in a reforestation project
Please direct production enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or Call us at +1(403) 437-9052