Salix alba
Silver willow
Common names: White willow
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Pruning
- Feb–Mar
- Flowering
- Apr–May
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Burkhard Mücke · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Silver willow (Salix alba) is one of the large native trees that grow along streams, rivers, and pond banks. Its narrow leaves bear fine silver hairs on the underside, which shimmer conspicuously in the wind. In April to May, the inconspicuous catkins appear long before nearby berry shrubs bloom. When pruned as a head willow, it remains compact and provides flexible poles for weaving and fence construction for decades. In a home garden it is suitable only with ample space and a truly moist to wet site.
Care instructions
Plant the Silver willow in a sunny spot with permanently moist, preferably occasionally flooded soil. Young trees need regular watering during the first year; thereafter they usually find enough water through their deep roots. If you want to grow it as a head willow, prune it heavily for the first time after 2 to 3 years and repeat the cut every 3 to 5 years in winter, when there is no frost. Without regular pruning, the Silver willow becomes very large, making it unsuitable for small gardens. Ensure sufficient distance from pipes and foundations when planting, as the roots are strong and extensive.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringApr–May
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, well-drained, nutrient-rich, loamy
The white willow loves fresh to moist soils and grows especially well at the edges of water and in floodplains. It tolerates periodic waterlogging much better than most other woody plants. It is happiest in nutrient-rich, loamy soil with good water availability. On dry, lean sites it stays much smaller and more susceptible.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
As a wild woody plant, the white willow usually manages without additional feeding on a suitable site. On lean soils, a helping of compost around the root zone in spring helps to support growth. A mulch layer of leaves or grass clippings keeps the soil moist and supplies nutrients on the side.
Pruning
Cutting back in late winter encourages the typical silvery foliage on young shoots and keeps the crown open. Old, diseased or crossing branches are removed back to healthy wood. Since the white willow tolerates pruning very well, it also forgives a harder cut-back for shaping without any trouble.
Overwintering
The white willow is fully hardy in Central Europe and needs no winter protection at all. Young, freshly planted trees benefit in the first winter from a mulch layer over the root zone. Frost and snow do not bother it, though on very exposed sites strong wind can damage young shoots.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- From seed
The easiest way to propagate is from hardwood cuttings: a pencil-thick shoot about 20 to 30 cm long is cut in early spring and inserted by two thirds into loose, moist soil. Willows root so reliably that rooting aids can usually be dispensed with. Propagation from seed is considerably more laborious, as the seeds stay viable for only a few days and must be sown fresh. For the home garden the cutting is therefore clearly the preferred method.
For your garden
Grow Silver willow yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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