Pussy Willows

Barbara Wagner, Erie County Master Gardener After all this cold weather and blistering winds, I decided to look for signs of spring. The red-winged blackbirds are back. The green shoots of the daffodils and tulips are coming up. And my pussy willow, a springtime favorite of many gardeners, has buds on its branches.The American native pussy willow has the scientific name salix discolor. The common name comes from the furry gray buds on the male catkins. It is a deciduous shrub that grows from 6 to 15 feet high.Like willow trees, also of the genus salix, pussy willows like moist to wet soils and often grow along the edge of swamps, rivers, or creeks. Missouri Botanical Gardens gives them a range north from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to Maryland and west to Illinois and Missouri. It is definitely native to Ohio.Pussy willow is a dioecious species. This means the male and female flowers form on separate plants. The male catkins are the showiest with the soft gray furry buds that resemble a cat's paw. The female have smaller greenish buds.Both male and female catkins will bear flowers. The female is pollinated by flies and bees. Both male and female will later have dull medium green leaves in a lance shape.Pussy willows are easy to propagate. A willow twig stuck in moist soil in the late spring or summer will develop roots in a few weeks. In a dry summer it will need extra water as it grows.The plants prefer full sun but can tolerate some shade. Because the roots of the plant can be invasive, it should not be planted near water lines or septic tanks.David Beaulieu of the spruce.com recommends choosing a cutting as thick as a pencil and one-foot long. The cut end should be put several inches into the ground with a couple of nodes above the ground. Cuttings can be rooted inside and then transplanted.Care includes fertilization and pruning. Compost and leaf mold are helpful. Beaulieu also suggested using a balanced fertilizer 18 inches beyond the drip line of the branches. The fertilizer should not touch the trunk.Missouri Botanical Gardens gives numerous disease and insect problems of pussy willow. These include blight, powdery mildew, leaf spot and scab and aphids, scale, borers, lacebugs, and caterpillars. The branches are prone to storm damage. Pruning, to encourage lateral growth, helps prevent these problems. Missouri Botanical Gardens states that the plant can be cut to the ground every 3-5 years.Gardeners are usually looking for pussy willows for decorative value, before the plant goes to flowers. Cuttings from the male plant provide artistic straight lines for indoor arrangements. If the pre-flowering stems are not placed in water, they will last for years. The furry gray buds can also be forced by bringing them into the house early.Pussy willows do have some value to natural life. "Pussy Willows – A Valuable Native Plant" from Pennsylvania Extension points out that Viceroys lay their eggs on the tips of the leaves and the caterpillars inside a rolled up leaf drop to the ground to reappear in the spring to form the chrysalis. Mourning Cloak butterflies hibernate in the bark of the tree.The early bloom time makes this an early source of nectar for pollinators as well as attracting insects that are a food source for chickadees and goldfinches.There are also non-native pussy willows. One, the Black Pussy Willow, salix gracilistryla var. melanostachys, was named March Tree-of the Month by Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. These pussy willows have very black catkins. The plant is native of Asia: Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China.The University of Arizona has a nice article on the European pussy willow, Salix caprea, French Pussy Willow or Goat Willow. This pussy willow has long gray fuzzy catkins.We had a large pussy willow shrub planted from a cutting. That was before rural water lines and the shrub was removed when the water line was installed. Two years ago I started another plant, well away from any water lines. After a bad start in a very dry year, it is growing well. And there are buds on it, a sign that spring is on the way.