Salix gracilistyla

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Gets only 6-10' tall and wide. Growth rate is fast. Willows are short-lived plants due to numerous insect and disease problems and weak wood that breaks in storms.

Native Range

Native to Japan, Korea, Manchuria and China. Cultivated since 1900.

Flower and Fruit Details

Grown for its showy, 1-2" long flowers, which are grayish, but pinkish/reddish tinged, silky, villous male catkins, with long, soft, shaggy hairs (the typical "pussy willow" type flowers) in March-April. Flowers turn yellowish as pollen forms. Dioecious. Fruit is a capsule, not showy.

Leaf and Bark Features

Deciduous: Leaves are simple, alternate, narrow-oblong-ovate, 2-5" long and 0.5-1.25" wide, acute at the ends, serrulate, gray-green to bluish or bluish-gray above, grayish and pubescent beneath, with a 0.25" pubescent petiole and some stipules. Little reliable fall color.

Culture and Care

Full sun (best) to part shade. Cut back hard every 3-4 years in the spring to promote healthy, vigorous growth. Likes moist to wet soils. Tolerates clay and various soil pH levels. Zones 5-8. Susceptible to numerous disease problems, including blights, powdery mildew, leaf spots, and cankers. Insect pests include aphids, scale, borers, lacebugs and caterpillars.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

4-season interest: Spring, summer, fall, winter.

Suggested Uses

Well suited to the smaller landscape, due to its smaller size than other pussy willows. Good in rain gardens, or use stems in cut flower arrangements.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA

The following taxa are (or were) represented in the collections at Boone County Arboretum. Additional taxa may be available in the trade that are not included here.

  • Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys' // Black Pussy Willow
    Tree. A mounded, multi-stemmed shrub. In spring, the showy male catkins open with a deep, purplish-black color, with brick-red anthers, finally showing yellow. Flowers on naked stems in March. Stems turn purplish-black in winter. This is a hybrid of Japanese origin. Zone (4)5-7. Ovate, finely-toothed leaves to 4" long are dark green above and silver-green below. Can be used as a specimen shrub in moist to wet areas of the landscape. Also makes a good screen.
    BT001418