Purple willow

Purple willow: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Shrub of 2–5 m with long, straight, pliable shoots, about 3 m across.

Leaf

Alternate to almost opposite, 4–10 cm, narrowly oblanceolate (widest above the middle), finely toothed only in the upper part; hairless, underside bluish-grey.

Twigs

Long, pliable, glossy shoots, purplish-red to yellowish-green; the inner bark is yellow and tastes very bitter.

Flower

Slender catkins in March–April, before the leaves; the anthers are purplish-red at first and later turn black.

Fruit

Fluffy seeds in May.

Difference from osier and white willow

Osier has much longer, narrow leaves with a silky, silvery underside, always alternate; white willow is a large tree with silvery, silky leaves toothed all round the edge.

Flowering: March–April · Pruning: December–March

Identify by feature: Long, narrow leaves

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Osier Salix viminalis: much longer, narrow leaves with a silky, silvery underside, always alternate. Difference from osier
• White willow Salix alba: a large tree with silvery, silky leaves toothed all round the edge. Difference from white willow

Why grow it?

• Fine, tough rods for weaving, baskets and living willow screens.
• A graceful, blue-green shrub with purplish-red shoots in winter.
• Early catkins for bees; food plant for many caterpillars.
• There are small forms such as ‘Nana’ for a low hedge.

Purple willow: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Moist to wet ground, beside a ditch, moat or pond; any soil type.
• Allow 2–5 m height and about 3 m width; regular coppicing keeps it smaller.
• The roots seek out water: keep it away from sewers, drains and pond liners.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Moist to wet

Size

4 m tall, 3 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Osier: Another weaving willow, with longer rods: together your own small osier bed.
• Almond willow: One more native weaving willow for the same wet ground, with scented catkins later in spring.
• Alder: The classic tree of the stream bank, for the same wet ground.
• Guelder rose: White flower heads in May and red berries in autumn, on the same wet ground.

Good and bad companions

Best kept away from

• Do not plant under the dense crown of these trees: norway spruce, european silver fir, nordmann fir, douglas fir, yew, horse chestnut, norway maple, sycamore

Purple willow: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, when the ground is not frozen.
2. The easiest way is a cutting: a fresh rod pushed into the ground in winter.
3. Buy plants from a nursery that sells native planting stock or a willow grower; never take plants from the wild.
4. Water after planting and during dry spells in the first year.

Care

Watering

During dry spells in the first year; on wet ground never after that.

Feeding

Not needed.

Coppicing

Every one to three years in winter (see pruning).

Using the rods

Fresh rods can be woven straight away; soak dried rods in water for a few days first.

Tip: Plant a few purple willows in a row and coppice them every year: you will have your own small osier bed, with fine rods each winter for baskets, bean poles or a living willow screen.

Purple willow: when to prune it?

Pruning months: December–March.

When: While dormant in winter, from December to March.

How:

• Coppice or pollard it every one to three years, just above the ground or the pollard head: this gives long, straight rods.
• For a free-growing ornamental shrub, just thin out the oldest branches every few years.
• Trim a low hedge of ‘Nana’ into shape in winter.

Caution: Cutting back in winter also removes the catkins: don’t coppice every shrub in the same year, so there are still flowers for the bees.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In winter, push 20–30 cm rods into moist soil: they root very easily.

Living willow work

Fresh rods pushed into the ground and woven together grow into a living willow screen.

Purple willow: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• After leaf fall the purplish-red shoots are at their best; winter is also the season for pruning and cuttings.

Diseases and pests

• Willow leaf beetle: Small blue beetles and their larvae eat the leaves. Harmless: after coppicing it regrows.
• Willow rust: Orange spore patches on the underside of the leaves in late summer. Harmless.
• Roots in the drains: Willow roots seek out water and can grow into pipes. Plant it a few metres away from sewers and drains.

Through the year

• January: Coppicing; sort rods for weaving.
• February: Coppicing; push cuttings into the ground.
• March: Last month for pruning and cuttings; the catkins appear.
• April: Flowering: catkins for bees.
• May: Fluffy seeds.
• July: Water young plants in dry spells.
• November: Planting season begins.
• December: Coppicing; bundle the rods.

What can you use it for?

Also used for

Fine, tough rods for weaving and baskets.

For wildlife

Early catkins for bees; food plant for many caterpillars.

Garden and landscape

Graceful shrub for wet ground; there are small forms such as ‘Nana’ for a low hedge.

Did you know?

• Opposite leaves are a great rarity among willows: purple willow is the only native willow in which they regularly occur.
• The bitter taste of the bark comes from substances such as salicin, the raw material for aspirin.
• The name purpurea refers to the purplish-red shoots and anthers.