Salix discolor (Pussy Willow)

Salix discolor (Pussy Willow) is a rounded large shrub or small deciduous tree boasting broadly elliptic bright green leaves adorned with bluish undersides. Before the foliage emerges in late winter or early spring, male trees produce a showy display of silky, pearl gray catkins, 1.5 in. long (3 cm), along their red-brown stems. Female trees produce small green catkins. This willow is among the first flowering plants in the spring, the catkins providing a high quantity of pollen and nectar as a food source, to bees, insects or birds. Pussy Willow can be used as a windbreak and hedge. In early spring, its flowering branches are in high demand.

• Grows up to 6-15 ft. tall (2-5 m) and 4-12 ft. wide (1-4 m). May be cut to the ground every 3-5 years to keep a smaller shrub size.
• Performs best in full sun in moderately fertile, medium to wet, well-drained soils. Thrives in moist soils, but tolerates somewhat drier soils better than most other willows.
• Easy to grow, easy to care for and deer tolerant. Keep an eye out for aphids, caterpillars, leaf beetles, sawflies, willow anthracnose diseases and a rust.
• Propagate by softwood or hardwood cuttings.
• Prune as needed in late winter to early spring.
• Native to North America.