Native Deciduous Shrub
Light: Sun
Soil Moisture: Moist
Soil Description: Damp soils.
Conditions Comments: Short-lived and fast-growing, pussy willows should be cut back heavily every few years to encourage lots of vigorous new growth.
Height: Up to about 25 feet tall, often shorter.
Soil Moisture: Moist
Soil Description: Damp soils.
Conditions Comments: Short-lived and fast-growing, pussy willows should be cut back heavily every few years to encourage lots of vigorous new growth.
Height: Up to about 25 feet tall, often shorter.
Bloom Color: White , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Mar, Apr, May
Leaf: Green
Fruit: Brown
Bloom Time: Mar, Apr, May
Leaf: Green
Fruit: Brown
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies, Native Bees
Pollinator Benefits: early season nectar source for pollinators; Xerces society notes Special Value for Native Bees, Bumblebees and Honey Bees
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Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) - Pussy willow is a narrow shrub or small tree usually to 20 ft. with multiple trunks and dark-gray, scaly bark. The familiar, silvery-gray, furry catkins appear before leaf emergence. Deciduous leaves are broad, bright-green and shiny. Many-stemmed shrub or small tree with open rounded crown; silky, furry catkins appear in late winter and early spring.
The large flower buds burst and expose their soft silky hair, or "pussy fur," early in the year. In winter, cut Pussy Willow twigs can be put in water and the flowers forced at warm temperatures. Some twigs will produce beautiful golden stamens, while others will bear slender greenish pistils. The Latin species name refers to the contrasting colors of the leaf surfaces, which aid in recognition. Pussy willow catkins are the first willow catkins to appear each year and are recognized as a sign of spring.
Source: www.wildflower.org, https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/pussy-willow