Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Shrubs

Salix cinerea

grey willow

A large deciduous shrub, to around 5m high, with downy new shoots and grey bark. Leaves are long, oval and shallowly serrated at the edges, dull green or grey-green on top and softly hairy underneath. Catkins appear before the leaves in spring; male catkins are shorter and begin fluffy grey, turning yellow when ripe, while female catkins are longer and green

Other common names

gray sallow
gray willow
see moregrey sallow
grey willow
sallow
sally

Synonyms

Salix timmii

Save to My plants

Buy this plant

Plant nurseries
10 suppliers

Ultimate height

4–8 metres

Time to ultimate height

5–10 years

Ultimate spread

2.5–4 metres

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

East–facing or South–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: Europe, N Africa, SW Asia

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in any deep, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Avoid shallow chalk soil

Propagation

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

Suggested planting locations and garden types

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

Pruning

Pruning group 7, every two or three years in March, for best show of catkins

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, caterpillars, willow leaf beetle, sawflies and willow scale insects

Diseases

May be susceptible to willow anthracnose, honey fungus and rust diseases

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.