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Shrubs

Salix lanata

woolly willow

A small, bushy deciduous shrub to around 1m in height, with rounded, mealy, silvery dark green foliage to 6cm in length. Golden-yellow male catkins to 5cm, or grey-yellow female catkins to 8cm long appear in late spring with the foliage

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Ultimate height

1–1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

10–20 years

Ultimate spread

1–1.5 metres

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained, Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun
Partial shade

Aspect

South–facing or East–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Exposed or Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Salicaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: Yes
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Bushy
Genus: Salix are deciduous shrubs and trees of diverse habit, with simple leaves and tiny flowers in catkins, male and female usually on separate plants. Some are valued for their brightly coloured winter shoots, others for their foliage or showy male catkins
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Arctic N Asia Europe

How to grow

Cultivation

Easy to grow on most soils in sun or partial shade; producing a small compact bushy shrub

Propagation

Propagate by softwood cuttings in early summer or hardwood cuttings in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Coastal
Wildlife gardens
Cut flowers
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

Pruning group 1

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, caterpillars, leaf beetles, sawflies, willow scale

Diseases

May be susceptible to willow anthracnose, scab, canker, honey fungus and rust

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