Succeeds in most soils, including wet, ill-drained or intermittently flooded soils, but prefers a damp, heavy soil in a sunny position. Plants prefer an alkaline or neutral soil, rarely doing well in acid conditions. Said to prefer a sandy soil, plants are tolerant of dryish soils. Plants are tolerant of salt water. A very ornamental plant, it is cultivated for its branches which are used in basket making, there are some named varieties. Plants are coppiced annually for this purpose A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly species and a good bee plant, providing an early source of nectar and pollen. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Plants should be put into their permanent positions as soon as possible. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Inner bark - raw or cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then added to cereal flour for use in making bread etc. A very bitter flavor, it is a famine food that is only used when all else fails. Young shoots - raw or cooked. They are not very palatable.

Seed - must be surface sown as soon as it is ripe in late spring. It has a very short viability, perhaps as little as a few days. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, November to February in a sheltered outdoor bed or planted straight into their permanent position and given a good weed-suppressing mulch. Very easy. Plant into their permanent positions in the autumn. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, June to August in a frame. Very easy.

Wet places in lowland areas, preferring neutral or alkaline soils.