Bay willow

Bay willow: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small tree of 5–10 m with a crown about 5 m across, often shrubby and multi-stemmed.

Leaves

Alternate, 5–12 cm, elliptic with a short pointed tip, finely gland-toothed; glossy dark green above as if varnished, paler below. Young leaves sticky and aromatic. Small glands at the top of the leaf stalk.

Bark

Grey-brown, later shallowly furrowed; twigs glossy reddish-brown, as if varnished.

Flowers

Yellow catkins, with five stamens per flower, in May–June, after the leaves have opened.

Fruit

The fluffy seeds are released only in late summer; the spent catkins often hang on into winter.

Difference from crack willow

Crack willow has a longer, narrower and less glossy leaf, and catkins as early as April.

Difference from bay laurel

Bay laurel is an evergreen shrub with an untoothed leaf that smells of the kitchen.

Flowering: May–June · Pruning: November–March

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Crack willow Salix × fragilis: longer, narrower and less glossy leaf, and catkins as early as April. Difference from crack willow
• Bay laurel Laurus nobilis: evergreen shrub with an untoothed leaf that smells of the kitchen. Difference from bay laurel

Why grow it?

• The glossiest leaf of our willows, with a delicate scent of bay.
• Late catkins in May–June, when most willows have finished flowering: welcome for bees.
• Stays small enough for an ordinary garden, especially as a shrub.
• A rare native willow: planting a bay willow gives it a helping hand.

Bay willow: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it grows thin and flowers poorly.
• Moist to wet, acid soil: peaty sand, peat, the edge of a heathland pool or pond.
• On dry or chalky soil it languishes.
• Allow for 5–10 m in height and a crown of about 5 m; as a shrub cut back every few years it stays smaller.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Acid soil

Moisture

Moist to wet

Size

8 m tall, 5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Goat willow: Flowers in March–April: together they give bees willow blossom from early spring into June.
• Bog-myrtle: A fragrant native shrub of wet, acid soil.
• Alder buckthorn: A shrub of wet, acid soil and food plant of the brimstone butterfly.
• Downy birch: A birch of wet, acid soil, whose white trunk contrasts beautifully with the glossy willow leaves.

Bay willow: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March when the ground isn’t frozen.
2. Plant at the edge of a pond, pool or ditch, just above the normal water line.
3. Young plants or rooted cuttings establish best.
4. No fertiliser or lime; on poor soil, mix at most a little leaf mould into the planting soil.
5. Water after planting if the soil is dry.

Care

Watering

Never needed on wet soil; in a drier spot, yes, in dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed; never give it lime.

Mulch

A layer of leaf mould or shredded prunings keeps the soil moist.

Cutting back

To keep it as a shrub, cut it down low every few years (see pruning).

Tip: In spring, rub a young leaf between your fingers: the sticky leaf smells of bay. So plant bay willow by a path or at the edge of a pond, where you can touch it.

Bay willow: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: During winter dormancy (November–March).

How:

• Tolerates hard pruning: as a shrub it can be cut back low every few years, and it regrows readily.
• As a tree it needs little pruning: remove dead, crossing and overlong branches.

Caution: The catkins form on last year’s wood: so don’t cut it back every year, or you will see few flowers.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In winter, push fresh twigs of 20–30 cm into moist soil or a pot: they root readily.

Bay willow: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• Its glossy reddish-brown twigs and the spent catkins, which often hang on into winter, make it easy to recognise even when bare.

Diseases and pests

• Willow rust: Orange spore pustules on the underside of the leaves in late summer. Harmless.
• Blue willow beetle: Small blue beetles and their larvae eat the leaves. Unsightly, but harmless.
• Languishing: Yellow leaves and little growth on dry or chalky soil: then it is in the wrong place.

Through the year

• January: Pruning; cut shrubs down low.
• February: Pruning; take cuttings.
• March: Last month for pruning and planting.
• April: The glossy, sticky young leaves unfold.
• May: Yellow catkins in flower, late for a willow.
• June: The last catkins in flower; bees.
• August: The fluffy seeds are released.
• November: Planting season; pruning can start again.
• December: Pruning.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Attractive, glossy small tree for wet gardens and pond edges.

For wildlife

Late catkins in May–June, when most willows have finished flowering: welcome for bees.

Did you know?

• The name pentandra (‘five stamens’) refers to the flowers: most willows have only two.
• It flowers later than almost all our other willows, and its fluff is only released in late summer.