Dappled Willow

Any help on this shrub? I was on a garden tour over weekend. Seen such a striking looking shrub,the owner didnt know what it was but directed me supplier. Check on Mon and its called a dappled willow. Cant seem to locate it anywhere. Dixie

Boy it's quite common here now.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56310/index.html

It is also sold as a graft on a 4 or 6 ft standard. The first year or two it looks like a big spikey shrub on a stick. Judicious pruning helps. Color this year (3rd yr) was absolutely faboulous. It was heavily pruned for shape in March. It would be hard to over prune. I removed anything that was sticking straight up. Also I made cement weights with hooks in large styrofaom cups. Saw this done on conifers in a Japanese gardening book. I choose some lateral branches that had promise and hung the weights to encourage weeping. Looked pretty silly when there were no leaves. However, now the foliage completely obscures the weights and they are absolutley invisible. You want to watch your head though if your walkng under it! LOL I plan on leaving the weights for two or three years to see if they will do the job. Maybe I'll put bows on em for the holidays.

If you want some cuttings, I can have some for you in about 4 weeks. Unlimited number. On the other hand, you won't find a plant that's easier to root. This is one where you can just stick a branch in the mud, and it will root.

This is an overhyped plant, IMHO. I had these in at least 3 different spots in my yard. First spot, part sun/shade, they were just rabbit food. Now I have them in a spot where they grow well...too well. Pruned back to 6" in the spring, mine get leggy to about 8' by end of summer and they have lost their color. I made the mistake of not pruning back this year and now I've got a 12-15' tall monstrous mess that will require a chainsaw and repeat doses of Roundup.

It is my opinion that this is one that looks great in the nursery but doesn't perform as well in the landscape over time. Keep your loppers handy. I'm going to keep one around only to generate cuttings for trade. ;-)

SB

Stressbaby, I agree with you. Seeing what this shrub looks like on a standard I would never plant it in the ground. Grafted on a standard it can be a nice addition, but only if you are willing to work with it. And I mean work.

thanks all . I would love some cuttings. Ill d mail you later must get off line for now. Dixie

There are soooo many gorgeous native willows around, with pleasing natural colors, that perform so well . . .

Guy S.

They grow fast, and they grow tesque. I'd go with Guy's suggestion.

Your are sure right StarhillForest. I sometimes regret the purchase. I have space constraints though and this does fit the area. It is planted adjacent to a koi pond. A native willow would overwhelm the space and setting. If you have a weeping anything selection that would work in blazing full sun, acid sandy moist soil within in a 12ft space I would yank this thing out in a heartbeat. Otherwise its me and the cement weights. LOL

I don't know about weeping, but there are hundreds of shrubby willow species of all sizes and shapes, some no more than groundcovers. The trick might be finding them, unless you know a willow collector or specialty nursery, or happen to find one along a creek nearby that you can propagate.
Guy S.

How apropos! Just yesterday I received a native Hoary willow Salix candida from a friend. Google pictures don't do it justice. but this picture of Todd Boland's on the plant files is exactly what it looks like:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/66326/
Very nice! A native of calcareous fens, but apparently quite adaptable.

Rick

Leftwood, that is really pretty. Where did you get it? Any more to be had?

Lefty, I think it's time to get Salicaceae (Jason) on here -- go beat his door down and tell him to sign up!

Guy S.

In fact that S. candida came from Salicaceae! He gave it to me on the condition that I would propagate and distribute it. He thinks it has real potential. So stay tuned!

Jason is forever busy, and even more so now since he will be moving south this fall. Still, somehow he finds time for things.

Rick

Here's my 4 year old Dappled. It does require pruning to keep it in line. If it ever gets too odd looking from that then I would get rid of it, otherwise I do like some varigation here and there.

I don't want to argue, but Hakuro Nishiki is a wonderful plant for this area of the world. I have the shrub variety and couldn't be happier with it.

I'm with Ivy! We have 3 of them together and they are absolutely stunning every year. We prune them back and they are a fantastic white and pink for months. Ours get to be about 8' or so through the summer. They are in a large bed, to be sure. And since we are on 5 acres, size isn't a huge issue. I plan to plant a number of them on one of our property lines along with Blue Artics. I also like "Flame," because it's branches turn such an intense red during the winter (like some of the dogwoods).

Oooh I love Blue Arctic Willow. I have been looking into those too.

Here is a shot that gives a bit of perspective to 3 Hakuras we have planted in one flower bed. I will grant you the bed is large. They have grown to appear like one big plant. But they are absolutely lovely, and with care (read that lots of pruning in the Spring) they stay beautiful all summer. And through the winter, the color of the branches is stunning. They are intense!

Here is a picture of one of our Blue Arctic Willows in perspective. About a month ago I took perhaps 2' off this one. You can tell it is now regrowing. We have a number of blues and purples in this bed, so it really fits in well.

Mine was unruly in a small space so I moved it. I ended up making it into a standard. I like it alot better and there is very little pruning. Linda

billr- that is a beautiful bed! I am extremely jealous of your Beech. What is the tree on the left in pic 1?

billr, Lovely garden photos. I have only one Hakuro Nishiki and am training it to a single trunk. It is 8 or9 years old growing at the edge of my little man made bog garden. And it is time to go and prune some of the suckers off the limbs again. But it is very pretty and if I don't forget I will take a photo and send along.

DonnaS

Ivy, if you mean the extreme left, it's a eucalyptus. We have several varieties of them in our various beds. You can't help but love their color, texture and form.

Ruth, there is a nursery close to us that has one on standard that is probably 10' across and equally high. It's essentially a tree, with a form like a weeping pussy willow. It arrests your attention the moment you drive into the nursery. The pink and white of these willows creates a soft background for any other plants around them, and the form allows you to use all sorts of plantings with this as a foil for your background.

bill r- thanks! That's the one.

Here is my HN-

Please disregard the green turtle sandbox behind it!

I finally took a photo of my Salix integra Hakura nishiki. I still haven't found the time to summer prune off all the sucker growth. The tree (it really is a small tree) is about 10 years in age, at the south edge of my little bog garden.

Donna