When my octogenarian mother could no longer live independently, she moved from the Northeast to California where my sister, a nurse, could look after her. Although Mom was enchanted with the year-round color and diversity of California flora, she missed many of the cool-climate plants of her New Jersey home.
Among her favorites was the pussy willow. Each freezing Jersey January, she would purchase an armload of florist-forced pussy willow to display in the big silver pitcher on the dining room buffet. She withheld water so the catkins would remain soft and fuzzy and the branches wouldn’t sprout leaves. They lasted for months, bringing a velvety touch of spring to the bleak Northeast winter.
One February day about 10 years ago, I was visiting my friends Hugh and Lee Brainard at their Oak Harbor home. In a corner of the back yard was a rangy pussy willow covered with plump gray catkins. They graciously granted my request to cut some to send to my mother. I carefully packed and mailed about a dozen long stems to Mom in California. You’d think I’d sent her the Crown Jewels. She was overjoyed, and immediately got out the big silver vase to display them.
Mom died two years ago at the age of 92. When my sister and I were packing her belongings, we found a long, narrow box in the closet. In it, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, were the Oak Harbor pussy willows I had sent those many years ago. Brittle now, and missing a few catkins, they were still delicate harbingers of long-ago springtimes.
Pussy willow (Salix discolor) is a deciduous shrub that favors a sunny location and moist, loamy soil, but is adaptable to less desirable environments. It’s a vigorous grower. In fact, its aggressive roots and rangy branching habits make it a poor choice for those who prefer neat and tidy gardens. It can be controlled to some extent by pruning. Flowers form on the previous season’s growth, not on new growth, so don’t prune until after the flowers have faded. Then prune lower branches back to the trunk and take out the wild, wandering ones until you like the shape. If it gets out of hand, every few years you can cut the entire tree back to about a foot, and it will come back.
These vigorous shrubs don’t need any extra fertilizer or special care, as long as they are not permitted to dry out. If you can’t help babying your plants, give them a nice helping of loamy compost once in awhile.
Pussy willows are supposed to display their catkins in early spring, but during mild winters such as this one, they’ll flower ahead of schedule. You’ll see many pussy willows blooming on Whidbey Island right now. In addition to the native S. discolor, you may spot the pretty French, or pink pussy willow, S. caprea, available at many nurseries.
Propagating pussy willows is easy. Take foot-long to 15-inch cuttings about the thickness of a pencil and stick them in moist soil in the springtime. Make sure a couple of buds are above the ground. Within a few weeks you should see signs of growth. Be sure to keep them well watered and protected from nibbling deer.
Despite their vigor, willows are subject to problems with galls, borers, aphids and fungus disease. While these pests are ugly, they normally don’t cause a great deal of damage to the shrub. Chemical control is iffy”at best, not worth the environmental harm it may cause.
According to Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, pussy willow leaves can be carried or used in magical mixtures to attract love. In ancient times, willow was placed in the home to guard against evil, and the leaves, bark and wood were utilized in healing rituals. (Willow contains salicylic acid, used in the manufacture of aspirin). Cunningham also states that witches’ brooms are traditionally bound with a willow branch. Flexible young willow branches are ideal for making beautiful, sturdy baskets.
Most of us aren’t basket weavers and have no plans to bind our brooms and fly away, but we just might enjoy cutting a few branches of pussy willow to remind us that we’re on the downhill side of winter and the softness of spring is on the way.
Mariana Graham is a WSU-certified Master Gardener and member of Garden Writers Association of America. To have a Master Gardener answer your questions, call 679-7327.
