Salix discolor (Pussy Willow)

A confirmed juglone-tolerant early pollinator anchor, pussy willow's catkins provide critical late-winter pollen for native bees emerging early in the season, while its blue-green foliage serves as a documented larval host for the Mourning Cloak, Viceroy, Red-Spotted Purple, and Compton Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Species Overview

Salix discolor, or pussy willow, is a native, deciduous shrub or small tree growing 6 to 15 feet tall, most recognizable in late winter and early spring when silvery, soft catkins appear well before the leaves - the first willow catkins to open each year and a widely recognized harbinger of spring.

Application

• Early-season pollinator habitat - catkins open before nearly any other flowering plant
• Plantings near black walnut and other juglone-producing trees
• Larval host habitat for the Mourning Cloak, Viceroy, Red-Spotted Purple, and Compton Tortoiseshell
• Wetland, stream bank, and hedgerow plantings - tolerant of occasional flooding

Growing Conditions / Specification Data

• Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
• Soil/Moisture Tolerance: Moist to wet, damp soils; suffers in dry sites; tolerates clay
• Plant Type: Shrub
• Mature Height: 8-15 ft.
• Fall Color: Yellow
• Bloom Color / Period: Yellow; March-April
• Wetland Indicator Status: NI (No Indicator) - see flags
• Native Range: Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (full list)
• Hydrology: Mesic-Moist
• Root Depth: Moderate (12-24 in.)
• Salinity Tolerance: Low
• Growth Rate: Rapid
• Drought Tolerance: Low
• Flood Tolerance: Moderate - Recommended as a shoreline-shading shrub for stormwater pond and wetland edges, indicating tolerance of periodically wet to occasionally flooded soil.
• Shade Tolerance: Intermediate
• Growth Habit: Multi-stemmed/Thicket-forming - spreads by suckers
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-8
• Deer Resistance: Yes (Rarely Damaged)
• Juglone Tolerance: Tolerant
• Pollinator Value: Larval host, supports bees, supports specialist/oligolectic bees, supports butterflies, supports moths

Planting Guidance

• Dioecious - male plants produce the familiar ornamental silky catkins; female catkins are smaller and greenish. Fast-growing and short-lived; cut back heavily every few years to encourage vigorous new growth, and be aware it can sucker aggressively in continuously moist soil.