Willow
Salix species (SALICACEAE)
Planting and Growing Willows
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow willow in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, fruit, catkins, and seeds of willow
- Growing conditions for willow
- When to plant willow
- How to plant willow
- How to prune willow
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of willow
- Landscape uses of willow
- Pest and disease control for willow
Growing Willows
About 300 species of fast-growing, usually upright and spreading, open, branching, brittle, deciduous trees, 6–100 ft. (1.8–30 m) tall, depending on species, with smooth, light green to yellow green, usually lance-shaped, pointed leaves, 3/4–6 in. (19–150 mm) long, depending on species, turning yellow in autumn, and with pink or red turning gray, smooth becoming fissured bark.
Willow Planting and Care Guide
Catkins and Seeds
Small catkins, 1/2–3 in. (12–75 mm) long, in spring before leaves emerge or with leaf buds, form brown, woody capsules, 1/2–1 in. (12–25 mm) long, bearing hairy, tuftlike seed, in early summer.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 1–10, depending on species.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich–low. 6.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space as recommended for species.
Proper Care
Easy–moderate. Keep evenly moist. Avoid fertilizing. Prune in autumn to shape, limit spread. Propagate by cuttings, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, screens in landscapes and water gardens. Good for erosion control, temporary plantings. Very invasive. Shallow rooted. Susceptible to more than 120 insect pests and numerous diseases.
Common Species and Varieties of Willow
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- Salix alba, white willow
- Salix babylonica, weeping willow
- Salix caprea, French pussy willow
- Salix discolor, pussy willow
- Salix gracilistyla, rose gold pussy willow
- Salix integra, dappled willow
- Salix matsudana, Hankow willow
- Salix pentandra, laurel willow
- Salix purpurea, purple osier
- Salix reticulata, neat-leaved willow
- Salix udensis, Japanese fantail willow
About Willow Trees
While the Salix genus numbers nearly 300 species of diverse trees, shrubs, and ground covers, most are noted for habits that limit their use in the landscape. They are native to cold and temperate zones throughout most of the world except Australia. All are hardy and grow best in cold-winter climates.
Willows have narrow, lance-shaped leaves hung from their limber, often nodding or pendulous branches made of weak, brittle wood. They turn various shades of brown or yellow in autumn, before beginning a year-round cycle of dropped leaves, woody capsules, catkins, twigs, and seed.
Willows have narrow, lance-shaped leaves hung from their limber, often nodding or pendulous branches made of weak, brittle wood. They turn various shades of brown or yellow in autumn, before beginning a year-round cycle of dropped leaves, woody capsules, catkins, twigs, and seed.
The large landscape willows—Salix alba, white willow; and Salix babylonica, weeping willow—are trees worthy of use in many landscape settings.
Willows are fast-growing trees that vary from 6–100 ft. (1.8–30 m) tall. A species or cultivar exists for nearly every garden purpose.
The willows are susceptible to a host of pests and many different fungal and viral diseases—more than 120 in all—so choose only hardy, healthy species for your landscape.
If you choose to plant willows, select a tree from the preferred species for landscape use, in the list at left.
Planting and Caring for Willows
The glamour of a weeping willow swaying gently over the water’s edge belies the constant care they require to maintain their attractive appearance. Still, in the right setting, willows can create a lush and beautiful effect worthy of estuarine, meadow, natural, and woodland gardens.
As coppiced shrubs, they grow copious branches full of delightful pussy willows in spring, and some cultivars have contorted branches ideal for cutting and arranging.
Plant willows in average, moist, well-drained, sandy, acidic to neutral soil. All landscape trees grow best in undisturbed native soil. It’s best to test the acid-alkaline balance of your site before you plant; willows should have soils in the 5.5–7.5 pH range. Choose species that fit your U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zone, climate, and site.
When planting a willow, match the depth of the hole to the soil line on the rootball of your tree, taking care to avoid too-deep planting.
Backfill around the rootball with native soil and keep the tree well watered until it becomes established and begins to spurt upwards with new growth.
Willows are ideal companions to garden water features. Their dense foliage shades and cools the water, helping to prevent growth of algae. They are good companions to other acid-loving plants, including azaleas, camellias, ferns, and rhododendrons.
Their care needs include regular raking of fallen catkinlike flowers in spring and leaves, seed, and seedpods in autumn. They attract birds drawn to their supple limbs for their nest building, egg laying, and young rearing.
Small willows are good container trees for use on balconies, patios, and decks. Keep them evenly moist and protect their roots from sun.