A colorful willow shrub for winter
Recently I had a chance to visit a friend in Massachusetts. One afternoon we visited one of our favorites, the .
As we drove in, I saw this orange-coral-golden beauty and thought it was the shrubby dogwood 鈥楳idwinter Fire鈥�.
I love the color of this plant in the winter landscape, but in Virginia it suffers from leaf spot during the summer. So placement is important 鈥� back of the border where other tall perennials will shield it from my view during its awkward period.
I was wrong about the Tower Hill plant, though.
It was a willow 鈥� Salix alba 鈥楤谤颈迟锄别苍蝉颈蝉. What a beauty! In the winter light it glowed. [See first photo at left.]
Other unusual willows
I have grown a couple of other willows:
- The poodle-like Salix babylonica 鈥楥rispa鈥� 鈥� a weeping willow in all respects except that the leaves are tight curls.
- The amazingly weird Salix sachaliensis 鈥楽ekka鈥�, a deformed willow that has a fasciating virus that causes the branches to widen and curl (beloved by flower arrangers). [See second photo at left.]
- And let鈥檚 not forget the ghost willow, , so beautiful in spring with pink and white foliage.
I know they must all be pruned heavily to remain beautiful and not take over the landscape.
Fascinating fasciation
The only one that has a little pussy willow in its nature is the 鈥楽ekka鈥�, and seeing the little furry buds on the strangely deformed stems is odd, . Every once in a while I will see an Amsonia hubrichtii (blue star) with some fasciation. Viral but not fatal.
One year when there was a lot of rain, 鈥楽ekka鈥� outgrew the fasciation and produced normal stems. But in this part of Virginia, that鈥檚 rare. Most often, it is otherworldly and wonderful.
Back to 鈥樷��. I told several friends about this and went looking on the Internet for sources. I found rooted cuttings in Canada. I don鈥檛 understand why it's not more widely available, as this is a spectacular plant in winter.
Maybe it has a secret, like the dogwood. But I can鈥檛 wait to try it here in Virginia and wow the neighbors and myself. I'm easily amused, I guess.
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Donna Williamson blogs regularly at Diggin' It. She's a master gardener, garden designer, and garden coach. She has taught gardening and design classes at the State Arboretum of Virginia, Oatlands in Leesburg, and Shenandoah University. She鈥檚 also the founder and editor of Grandiflora Mid-Atlantic Gardening magazine, and the author of 鈥淭he Virginia Gardener鈥檚 Companion: An Insider鈥檚 Guide to Low Maintenance Gardening in Virginia.鈥� She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. To read more by Donna, click here.
