PUSSY WILLOW AT A GLANCE COMMON NAME: Pussy
willow
SPECIES: Salix discolor, (Say'licks); willow family
SIZE: 4-10 feet tall and more, depending on variety; fast growers
EXPOSURE: Full sun.
FOLIAGE: Leaves alternate, usually narrow, mostly lance-shaped and tapering o both
ends. Deciduous, meaning they fall off in the winter.
FLOWERS: Male and female furry catkin-type flowers on separate plants, blooming in
early spring before leaves expand. A catkin is a scaly spike of unisexual flowers that
fall after flowering or fruiting.
FRUIT: 2-valved capsule.
CULTURE: Likes moist, well-drained soil; dislikes shallow alkaline soil.
PRUNING: Tolerates pruning any time.
PROPAGATION: Root softwood cuttings in spring or hardwood cuttings in winter,
especially easy to root in sand.
USES: Border or along water's edge. Look best in corner of garden.
PROBLEMS: Crown gall.
OTHER VARIETIES: S.chaenomeloides, red-bud pussy willow, one of most handsome with
large catkins and red buds in winter; grows quickly to 15 feet.
S. gracilistyla Melanostachys, black pussy willow shrub 6-10 feet, with purple-black
winter stems and purple-black flowers with red anthers that turn to yellow.
S. gracilistyla, or rosegold pussy willow shrub 4-10 feet, with showy male catkins
pinkish or reddish and orange anthers.
S. sachalinensis Sekka, or Japanese fantail willow shrub or small tree 10-15 feet, a
male cultivar whose branchlets are sometimes flattended and contorted; often used in dried
floral arrangements.
S. caprea, French pussy willow, yellow male catkins and silvery pink female ones.
Sources: Taylor's Guide to Shrubs, American Horticulture A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden
Plants, Hillier Gardener's Guide to Trees & Shrubs, McDonald Garden Center |