How to Grow and Care for White Willow

White willow is a beautiful tree but planting it in small residential landscapes or as a street tree is not recommended. Its shallow, pervasive roots make it unsuitable to plant it near structures, pipes, cesspools, or sidewalks because the roots can even damage concrete. Its littering of leaves, branches, and flowers makes it a messy tree, and the weak damage-prone wood tends to break under the slightest wind, snow, or ice stress. For all these reasons, few nurseries offer white willows and if they do, it is usually one of the cultivars, which were bred to make a more manageable tree. If you have the space and don’t mind a labor-intensive tree, white willow makes an attractive addition to wet areas or such as the edge of a rain garden. 

White willow is a fast-growing tree that is usually planted in the fall.

White Willow Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing a white willow: 

• Plant the tree in full sun.
• Give it a location where the soil is naturally moist all the time.
• Do not fertilize the tree, which will only lead to more weak growth.
• Prune it annually.
• Keep the area around the tree free of debris to prevent the perpetuation of pests and diseases.

Light

Choose a place with ample sun. White willow grows in partial shade, but it prospers in full sun. The tree does poorly in shady conditions.

Soil

The soil for white willow should be rich and have excellent moisture retention while being well-draining. White willow thrives in moisture and can withstand temporary flooding but will not survive dry soil.

The tree is adaptable to a wide pH range between 5.5 and 8.0.

Water

Because white willow needs plenty of water, is should only be planted in a location where the soil is naturally moist. In every other planting location, it will create an ongoing obligation for you to water it regularly, as the tree cannot withstand dry conditions. And if no water is present, the tree roots will seek a water source, creating problems with nearby pipes or sewer lines.

Temperature and Humidity

White willow is a very winter-hardy tree that favors a temperate climate. It does better in a cooler climate than in a hot, humid climate. It is one of the latest trees to drop its leaves and one of the first whose leaves emerge in the spring. It is able to adapt to humid conditions.

Fertilizer

Do not fertilize a white willow tree. The wood of this species is already known to be weak and brittle and any fertilizer may speed up branch growth and produce wood that is even weaker and create more breakage issues.

Types of White Willow

If you have set your mind on a white willow, it is best to plant one of the cultivars. Keep in mind that issues that come with the tree are not eliminated just mitigated.

• Salix alba var. vitellina: Commonly called golden willow, this variety is grown for its attractive new stems that are golden-yellow before turning brown. It is particularly decorative in the winter. Because of its rapid growth rate—up to eight feet per year—golden willow is often grown as a multi-stemmed shrub and the branches are cut back just above the ground every year.
• Salix alba 'Tritis': Named golden weeping willow for its slender, pendulous golden branchlets, this cultivar grows 50 to 75 feet tall but has a slightly smaller width than the species and a rounded crown.
• Salix alba var. caerulea: This is the willow used to make cricket bats, hence its name, cricket-bat willow. It is tall (up to 100 feet at maturity) and fast-growing with a single straight stem, and slightly larger leaves.
• Salix alba 'Belders': This male cultivar is just as fast-growing as other white willows, but it is often grown as a pollard willow, which keeps its growth under control. It has. straight or slightly bent trunk and a narrow oval crown.

Pruning

Pruning a white willow is a practice in prudence. It has a beautiful slightly drooping form, (though less so than the weeping willow variety) that you want to maintain. The main goal of pruning is to remove weak, damaged, and dead branches. Pruning is easy when the tree is young; it should be done annually in the fall after the leaves have dropped or in the winter. 

This species can have more than one leader, so prune as desired, lifting the canopy from the inside, and allowing the outside to droop. Plan to make your cuts by walking around under the tree and ignoring the outer edge, which will form a drooping habit. The only pruning you will do on the outer edge will be the cuts for maintenance, removing dead wood, branches that intersect with other branches, and damaged branches. As the tree becomes too large for you to prune from the ground with hand tools safely, you might have to enlist the services of a certified arborist.

Propagation

It is highly discouraged to propagate the straight species for planting in a residential landscape. However, It is possible to propagate cultivars from softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer. 

1. Using a sharp knife, cut a new 4-inch shoot below a leaf note, ideally early in the morning.
2. Remove the lowest leaves. Dip the cut end in rooting hormone.
3. Fill a 4-inch pot filled with damp soilless mix. Insert the cutting deeply into the pot with just the top two leaves just above the surface. Water it well.
4. Cover the cutting with a clear plastic dome or a perforated plastic bag. Place it in a location with indirect light, out of direct sunlight.
5. Keep the soil evenly moist and also mist the cutting twice a week.
6. After the cutting has rooted, it is safe to place it in full sun. Water it regularly and never let the soil dry out.
7. Wait until it has grown into a vigorous plant before transplanting it into the landscape.

Potting and Repotting White Willow

Due to its large size and fast growth, white willow is not suitable to be grown in containers.

Overwintering

White willow needs no winter protection. It is a tough tree able to survive northern winters in as low as zone 2.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

White willows are susceptible to various diseases and insect problems. Most insects are just nuisances and do not cause any real issues. The most common pests you will see are aphids, willow scale, borers, and lace bugs, flea beetles, and sawfly larvae.

Potential diseases include anthracnose, rust, crown gall, cankers, leaf spots, and blight which can often be prevented or controlled with proper pruning and regular cleanup of debris around the tree.

How to Get While Willow to Bloom

Bloom Months

White willow typically blooms in April or May but in warm southern locations it may bloom as early as February.

How Long Does White Willow Bloom?

The bloom lasts for a few weeks. 

What Do White Willow Flowers Look and Smell Like?

A white willow tree has either male or female catkins. The male catkins are up to 2 inches long with tiny yellow flowers. The female catkins are smaller and have tiny greenish flowers. The male flowers are showier. The flowers are not fragrant. 

Caring for While Willow After It Blooms

There is nothing to be done for the tree after the bloom but the area around the tree gets a little messy with the dropped catkins littering the ground so you might want to rake those up.