Nishiki Willow, Dappled Willow 'Hakuro Nishiki' (Salix integra)

Nishiki Willow, Dappled Willow 'Hakuro Nishiki'
Salix integra

Can be trained easily into tree form and really lights up a garden spot

what a fabulous yard.

Thanks, lisaohio! I wish it looked that good this year. April freezes have taken their toll here....

The Hakuro Nishiki became very popular in the Treasure Valley of Idaho with the rapid residential building boom 2002-2008. Initially, they were hard to find and expensive! When I finally located a couple, I was thrilled. Three years later, I hated them. There was no info on their Willow heritage, and even less info on the size they would attain when I purchased them. The bigger problem was that they did not retain their pink varigated coloring and the Ag Center was not helpful. Long story short: I didn't do enough home work and was disappointed in the lack of the pink varigated color retention. I planted the two in an oval burm in our front yard. They looked "cool" the first year and had not started their rapid growth. The 2nd year, they were green! I pruned them back very hard, and some of the pink returned, but they grew with a vengance and knocked out the balance of the burm. This is year 3, and my husband pulled them out and replanted them in a windbreak at the west end of our 1 acre sized lot. Right now they are looking rather puney, but knowing their Willow heritage, they will come back next year. And if they do not, no big loss; a Willow is a Willow is a Willow. Moral of story is: have lots of room for these guys; they will grow even in the high arid desert climate of Nampa, Idaho, if well watered; they may turn green and take on more of the Willow characteristics; will over-power smaller shrubs so watch for balance in your landscaping projects. Can be pruned, but return to their "wild" shape. Will not retain a hedge shape unless trimmed continuously. I do not plan on using them again in any of my landscaping projects on our huge lot.

littlerock, I'm sorry about your experience with these trees/shrubs. I am in zone 5B and have no reversion to green at all (I have two--the one in the picture above and one by our guesthouse in this shot). The trees stay white and pink throughout the season. They DO grow really fast. I keep mine pretty low with a serious trim every two weeks in the Spring and about once a month in the summer. I really like them, but they require some maintenance.

I just put in a row of five hakuro nishiki (tree form) and want to use them as a privacy screen. Right now they are about 6 feet tall and too short for my purpose, but I'm hoping they will grow taller. The label says the expected height is 8 feet. Is there any type of pruning I can do to urge them higher?