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Planting smaller willow tree varieties can add color and texture to the landscape.

Scott Woodbury

February 15, 2019

4 Min Read
prairie willow tree
SMALL TRIBUTE: The prairie willow tree pays homage to the large weeping willow seen in many farmsteads over the years. It offers homeowners the option of planting tradition in the tiniest form.

“Between the ranch house and the house we live in is the singing creek where the willows grow. We have conversations, and there I do dabble my toes beside the willows. I feel the feels of gladness they do feel.” — Opal Whitely, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow

There is perhaps no native plant more ubiquitous than willow, especially black willow. It comes up in house gutters, garden beds, low farmers’ fields, roadside ditches, pond margins and every creek-side gravel bar in the eastern half of the U.S.

Why house gutters? They produce millions of fluffy airborne seeds that may fly for miles. Those that land on disturbed, wet, bare soil or gravel — or in gutters — sprout immediately and grow fast.

There is no need for a cold winter to break seed dormancy. Seedlings grow rapidly to stabilize creek and river edges that get scoured from spring rainstorms. But as useful as black willows are in healing damaged creeks, they are thought of as weeds in the landscape. They grow quickly to 30 feet, which is too large for most gardens.

Tiny tree
Fortunately, there is prairie willow, a small clump-forming shrub that grows about 5 feet tall with branches that extend horizontally as the plant grows. It has a slow-to-moderate growth rate and will form a small colony over many years. When pruned every other year, plant height may be reduced.

It blooms in early March, coinciding with the emergence of early-season bees and flies who are hungry for its abundant pollen and nectar. It also is the favorite food of mourning cloak and red admiral butterflies whose caterpillars feed on the leaves in summer.

It is an upland willow species, growing in dry prairies and a good choice for difficult low-maintenance dry landscapes. It may be grown as a low hedge or mass, as it tends to grow outward more than upward, like "Grow-low" aromatic sumac. It also grows densely with a profusion of slender stems, effectively eliminating weeds.

There are ecotypes of prairie willow that grow much taller, so look for the low-growing form of prairie willow called the Brazil strain, which was discovered near Brazil, Mo.

willow tree leaf closeup

STREAM WORTHY: The heart-leaved willow grows well by creeks and ponds. Landowners should consider these trees to maintain bank stability.

Lush and large

Here are a few more willow trees to consider, if you have the space. These grow larger.

· Heart-leaved willow grows wild in wet woodlands, wetlands and along creeks. In gardens, it thrives in sun or partial shade and clay soils, wet or dry.

The variety growing in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden grows similarly to the Brazil strain of prairie willow, but is slightly bigger, growing 6 to 8 feet tall. Branches grow laterally and root at the edges as the plant expands outward at a slow-to-moderate rate. Butter-yellow flowers emerge in spring from reddish flower buds and stems. It has the showiest buds, flowers and stems of the Missouri willow species and has potential for cut-flower use.

· Sand-bar willow is a showy shrub for landscaping with the potential to reach 8 feet in height and greater in width, making an excellent screen. It is twiggy and dense in form, eliminating weeds effectively. Sand-bar willow has showy, narrow, drooping leaves that are long, dark green and narrow, kind of like vanilla beans hanging down from the stem.

· Carolina willow will grow to 20 feet tall and resemble a weeping willow. Its juvenile yellow branches are flexible and move in the wind.

To train one into a tree, remove all but one to three of the most vigorous stems and limb it up (remove lower side branches and sprouts) to a desired height during the first three to five years of growth.

It is both flood and drought tolerant. For gardeners, that is key because weeping willows suffer from drought. To grow as a screen, cut it back to the ground annually to form an impenetrable clump of stems and leaves 8 to 10 feet tall and wide. Carolina willow is a fast-growing species. 

Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Mo., where he has worked with native plant propagation, design and education for 27 years. He also is an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! Program.

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