Live stakes are dormant, unrooted cuttings of willow, dogwood, buttonbush, elderberry and similar woody plants, driven into a stream bank or wet slope to root and hold soil. Install them while dormant, late fall to early spring. Set them 2 to 3 feet apart in staggered rows, about 29 stakes per 100 square feet at 2-foot spacing.
This guide comes from Tennessee Wholesale Nursery, the family-owned wholesale nursery in Altamont, Tennessee, near McMinnville, growing trees, shrubs, perennials, wetland and native plants. This site is the nursery's guide to planting in bulk. Here is what a contractor, farm or landowner needs to choose, order and install live stakes on a stream bank in one dormant season.
What does live stake mean?
A live stake is a length of stem cut from a dormant woody plant, with no roots and no leaves. It is pushed or tapped into moist soil, roots along the buried part, and leafs out from buds above ground. Penn State Extension describes live staking as setting dormant stem cuttings into stream banks so they build a root network that holds soil against erosion.
Live stakes work best where the soil stays moist: eroding stream banks, pond edges, wetland restoration, rain gardens and wet slopes where potted or bare-root plants struggle. They are much quicker to plant than either. They suit erosion control plantings and riparian buffers, often alongside coir logs or rock at the toe of the bank.
Best live stakes species by bank zone
A stream bank is not one site. The toe sits in or beside water, the face drains between storms, and the top can dry out by late summer. Match each species to the zone it suits and a mixed order covers the whole bank.
| Bank zone | Soil wetness | Species to stake | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toe (waterline and just above) | Saturated, floods often | Black willow, buttonbush, silky willow | First roots against scour |
| Lower face | Wet, floods after storms | Silky willow, silky dogwood, pussy willow | Dense stems that catch sediment |
| Upper face | Moist, drains between storms | Silky dogwood, elderberry | Roots that bind the slope |
| Top of bank | Moist to drier in summer | Elderberry, roughleaf dogwood | Cover that ties the bank to the field edge |
- Black Willow Live Stakes: a tree willow and one of the species most likely to take hold in wet ground. Use it at the toe.
- Silky Willow Live Stakes: a willow for the toe and lower face, with feathery catkins in spring.
- Button Bush Live Stakes: a shrub for the wettest ground, with round white flower heads.
- Silky Dogwood Live Stakes: the workhorse for the bank face between the willows and the top.
- Elderberry Live Stakes: for the upper face and top of bank, with dark purple berry clusters later in the season.
- Pussy Willow Live Stakes and Roughleaf Dogwood Live Stakes: add them for variety on the lower face and the top of bank.
When to install live stakes?
Install live stakes while the plants are dormant: after the leaves drop in fall and before buds open in spring. Winter is the best season. Penn State Extension gives a window of November to April in Pennsylvania, depending on the year. Farther south, go by the plants rather than the calendar: start once local trees have dropped their leaves, and finish before the first buds swell. Plant on days when the ground is not frozen, so each stake roots before it has leaves to feed.
Tip: Order early in the dormant season. A late-winter install leaves little room if a wet spell floods the site for a week or two.
How many live stakes to order
Penn State Extension recommends stakes 2 to 3 feet apart in several rows, set in a triangular pattern. The University of Washington guide uses 18 to 24 inches where you want dense shade to crowd out invasive plants. Staggered rows pack stakes a little tighter than a square grid, so the counts below are for triangular spacing.
| Spacing | Stakes per 100 sq ft | Stakes per 1,000 sq ft | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 inches | 51 | about 510 | Dense cover, invasive pressure |
| 2 feet | 29 | about 290 | Most eroding stream banks |
| 3 feet | 13 | about 130 | Gentle banks, mixed with other plantings |
To work out your order, measure the bank length and the width you will plant from toe to top, then multiply to get square feet. A bank 200 feet long, planted 8 feet up the slope, is 1,600 square feet. At 2-foot spacing that is about 464 stakes. Every species comes in bundles of 100, 500 and 1,000, so split the order across zones. For example, take 100 black willow and 100 buttonbush for the toe, then 200 silky dogwood and 100 elderberry for the face and top.
Stakes come in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 foot lengths. Half to two-thirds of each stake goes into the soil, so pick longer stakes for banks that scour hard or dry out at the top. Choose shorter stakes for soft, wet soil and quick planting.
How to install live stakes
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Freshen the bottom cut
Make a fresh angled cut at the bottom of each stake and leave the top flat, so the crew always knows which end goes down.
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Soak before planting
Stand the stakes in a bucket of water until they go in, so the bark stays plump and moist.
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Make a pilot hole
In firm or rocky soil, open a hole with a length of rebar so the bark is not stripped as the stake goes in.
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Set the stake buds up
Push or tap the stake in with a rubber mallet at a right angle to the soil surface. Bury half to two-thirds of its length, with at least two or three buds below ground.
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Leave buds above ground
Leave at least a couple of buds showing to sprout. On a 1-2 foot stake that is often just 3 to 6 inches; longer stakes leave more. Trim a split top cleanly.
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Firm the soil
Tamp the soil around each stake with your heel so no air pockets touch the stem. Then move on to the next point in the triangle.
Storing live stakes on arrival and first-year care
Stakes root best when planted soon after cutting; the University of Washington guide aims for within 24 hours of the cut. Treat arrival day as planting day, and plant within a day or two at most. Open the box the same day and keep the bundles damp and in the shade. Stand them in buckets of water or wrap them in wet burlap until planting, somewhere cool and out of the sun. Never let them dry out or sit in a warm truck.
In the first year, roots matter more than leaves. Plant in wet soil, or water through dry spells until the leaves emerge. In fall, give a few stakes a gentle tug: one that resists has rooted. Fill gaps with new stakes the next dormant season.
Live stakes FAQ
What does live stake mean?
A live stake is a dormant, unrooted cutting of a woody plant, such as willow or dogwood, usually 1 to 4 feet long. It is driven into moist soil with most of its length buried, where it grows roots along the stem and leafs out from the buds left above ground.
When to install live stakes?
Install them while the plants are dormant, from leaf drop in late fall until buds open in early spring. Winter is the best season. Plant on days when the ground is not frozen, and finish before bud break so the stakes root before they leaf out.
Where can I find live stakes for sale?
Tennessee Wholesale Nursery sells willow, dogwood, buttonbush, elderberry and other live stakes on its live stakes page. Each species comes in 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 foot lengths, in bundles of 100, 500 and 1,000, so you can mix species across bank zones.
