Photo: GerardM at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Broadleaf tree · Willow family (Salicaceae)

White willow

Salix alba · also: Pollard willow

The white willow is the willow of our streams, ditches and wet meadows. Usually it grows there as a pollard: a thick, short trunk topped with a head of straight branches that is cut back every few years. Its narrow, silvery-hairy leaves make it look silver-grey from a distance. Left to grow freely, it reaches 15–25 m with a crown of about 12 m. It loves sun and moist to wet soil, and its roots seek out water. As a free-standing tree it doesn’t suit an ordinary garden; as a pollard beside a ditch or pond, or in a meadow, it is a star for wildlife.

Caution: The roots seek out water: don’t plant it, even as a pollard, right next to the house, drains or sewers.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Light
Full sun
warm and bright
Moisture
Moist to wet
must not dry out
Legal basis
Any garden soil
any pH
Hardiness
Throughout Belgium
no protection needed
Size
15–25 m, often pollarded
tall
Flowering
April

Key facts
Pruning months	November–March
Height	15–25 m, often pollarded
Native to Belgium	Yes
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees, butterflies and birds
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous
Flowering	April

Identify

White willow: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Tree of 15–25 m with a crown about 12 m across; often pollarded, with a thick trunk of 2–3 m and a head of straight branches.
Leaves: Alternate, lance-shaped, 5–10 cm, finely toothed; both sides (especially the underside) silky and silvery-hairy.
Bark: Grey and deeply furrowed in a network pattern.
Flowers: Catkins in April; male and female on separate trees.
Fruit: Fluffy seeds in May–June.
Difference from crack willow: Crack willow has a glossier, almost hairless leaf, and its twigs snap off at the base with a crack.

Flowering: April · Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: Long, narrow leaves · White or silver underside

Looks like it, but isn’t

Crack willow (Salix × fragilis): glossier, almost hairless leaf; twigs snap off at the base with a crack.

In your garden

Why grow it?

Pollard willows are the very image of the Flemish and Dutch polder and stream landscape.
Old, hollow pollard willows are nesting sites for little owls and tits, and are home to many insects.
The catkins in April are an early food source for bees and bumblebees.
Every pollarding provides free withies and poles for weaving, bean poles and firewood.
Child’s play to propagate: a fresh branch pushed into the ground is enough.

White willow: where does it grow best?

Full sun.
Moist to wet soil, along a ditch, stream or pond; any soil type, and it tolerates flooding.
As a free-standing tree (15–25 m, crown 12 m) only for a large garden, a meadow or a bank; as a pollard it takes up much less space.
Keep even a pollard away from the house, drains and sewers: the roots seek out water.

Light: Full sun
Legal basis: Any garden soil
Moisture: Moist to wet
Size: 20 m tall, 12 m wide
Hardiness: Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

Alder: The other classic tree of the stream bank: together they hold the bank in place.
Guelder rose: A native shrub for wet ground with white flower heads and red berries.
Osier: A shrubby willow with long, supple withies: ideal for weaving alongside the pollard wood.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Maintenance

White willow: when and how to plant it?

A pollard willow is planted as a ‘truncheon’: a straight, fresh branch about 2.5 m long and as thick as a wrist, cut in winter (November–March) from another pollard willow.
Make a hole with a stake or crowbar and set the truncheon about 50 cm deep, buds pointing upwards; firm the soil well.
In a meadow, protect truncheons from cows and horses: they strip the bark.
If you want an ordinary tree, plant a young tree from November to March when the ground isn’t frozen.

Care

Pollarding: Cut off all the branches every 3–7 years (see pruning).
Trunk shoots: On a young pollard, remove the shoots on the trunk during the winter prune so that only the head sprouts.
Watering: Never needed on wet ground; young truncheons on drier soil, in dry spells during the first year.
Hollow pollards: Leave them standing: a hollow pollard willow lives on for years and is then at its most valuable for wildlife.

Tip: Use the withies from pollarding for a living willow screen or a willow den for the children: fresh withies pushed into the ground take root and sprout in spring.

White willow: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: Pollard in winter (November–March), preferably not in frosty weather.

How:

Every 3–7 years, cut all the branches off just above the head of the pollard. Wait too long and the head will split under the weight of the heavy branches.
Saw thick branches off in two stages: first a little higher up, then just above the head, so that the bark doesn’t tear.
Let a new truncheon form a head at the top for the first few years; after that, always pollard it at the same height.

Caution: Don’t pollard every willow in a row in the same year: that way birds and insects always have shelter somewhere.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings and truncheons: In winter, push fresh 20–30 cm twigs or truncheons into moist soil: they root readily.
Living willow work: Fresh withies pushed into the ground and woven together grow into a living willow screen or a willow den.

White willow: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

Fully hardy, and it copes well with winter flooding.
Winter is pollarding season: pick a day without hard frost.

Diseases and pests

Splitting head: Pollarding left too long: the heavy branches split the head open. Pollard on time, every 3–7 years.
Willow leaf beetles: Small blue beetles and their larvae eat the leaves. Harmless to a pollard willow.
Goat moth: The fat red caterpillar of the goat moth bores tunnels in the trunk; sawdust and a vinegary smell give it away. Old pollards often live with it for years.
Willow rust: Orange spore pustules on the underside of the leaves in late summer. Harmless.

Through the year

January: Pollarding (not in hard frost); sort withies for weaving.
February: Pollarding; plant truncheons and cuttings.
March: Last month for pollarding and planting truncheons.
April: Catkins: an early nectar plant for bees.
June: Fluffy seeds drift about.
July: Water young truncheons on drier soil.
October: The leaves fall; leave hollow pollards standing.
November: Pollarding season begins.
December: Pollarding; tie withies in bundles.

Use

What can you use it for?

Also used for: As a pollard it provides withies for weaving, posts and wood for everyday use. Cricket bats are made from a willow variety.
For wildlife: Old, hollow pollard willows are nesting sites for little owls and tits, and are home to many insects.
Garden and landscape: Typical landscape feature along ditches and streams; cuttings from a branch root easily.

Good for wildlife

Caterpillars: Host plant: caterpillars of butterflies or moths eat the leaves.
Bees: Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.
Birds: Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.
Bats: Attracts insects in the evening that bats hunt.

You and this species

Did you know?

Most pollarded willows along streams and ditches are white willows. The bark contains salicin, the raw material for aspirin.
Cricket bats are made from the wood of a variety of white willow.
Hollow pollard willows are a favourite nesting site of the little owl.
Old willows are home to the musk beetle, a metallic green beetle that smells of musk. Its larvae develop in the willow wood.
In spring, willow catkins are an important source of pollen and nectar for bees and bumblebees.

All species · Identification key · Pruning calendar