- Examine the length and width of the leaves of a willow tree to determine its species.
- Black willow leaves are under 1 inch in width, but those of a red willow are around 1 1/2 inches wide.
What does a black willow tree look like?
The black willow has gray-brown bark that is furrowed into shaggy plates at maturity. Simple, alternate leaves are up to 6 inches long and are finely toothed along the edges. Leaves are medium green, changing to yellow-green in autumn. Male and female flowers are on separate trees (dioecious).
How do you identify a crack willow tree?
Identify the crack willow tree (S. fragilis) by its ridged and deeply furrowed bark that’s dark brown to grayish black. The crack willow has yellow, brittle twigs, grows 50 to 80 feet tall and has long, narrow, smooth, ½-to-1½-inch-wide and more than 2-to-6-inch-long leaves with pale undersides...
How do you grow a black willow tree?
Growth. Starting a black willow tree can be as simple as breaking a branch off one and placing it into moist soil near water. The tree can grow in partial shade if necessary but will flourish in full sun. Soil that stays wet year-round is best for this type of tree and even floods will not deter it from growing.
What is wrong with my black willow tree?
Canker diseases are common on this tree. The black willow’s aggressive roots can get into drainage systems and sewers and cause problems. The tree is tolerant of black walnut toxicity. Your support is vital to the Arboretum, where the power of trees makes a positive impact on people’s lives.
How do I know what kind of willow I have?
0:081:24Identifying Willow - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd characteristics you look for in willow generally. The young growth is long and thin and flexibleMoreAnd characteristics you look for in willow generally. The young growth is long and thin and flexible. And you can see this sort of almost tie knots in this in fact you can tie knots in this.
Is a black willow the same as a weeping willow?
The black willow and weeping willow come form to very different regions, are have different physical qualities as well. Black willow are from North America, have dark bark, and dark leaves. The weeping willow tree is native to China, has lighter bark, pendulous branches, and lighter leaves.
Where is black willow found?
Distribution: Black willow ranges from New Brunswick to Manitoba, south to Florida and Texas. Black willow distribution from USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database. Habitat: This species is usually found on moist or wet soils along banks of streams, lakes, swamps around farm ponds, and pasture sloughs.
What color is black willow?
Black Willow, or Salix nigra Marsh., is a rapid growing tree that reaches maturity within 50 to 70 years. The sapwood is white and the heartwood is light brown to pale reddish, or grayish brown. Black willow often has dark streaks and tiny pin knots.
What is black willow good for?
Use Other: The numerous uses of the wood include millwork, furniture, doors, cabinetwork, boxes, barrels, toys, and pulpwood. During the American Revolution, the wood of black willow (and of other willows) was made into fine charcoal, which was then used to make gunpowder.
Whats the difference between a willow tree and a weeping willow tree?
Willows grow in most places and tolerate numerous zones; you may even have one in your neighborhood and not know it! All weeping willows are willows, but not all willows are weeping. The weeping willow has a delicate weeping growth pattern and is the classic shape you think of when you think of a willow tree.
Is black willow toxic?
Allergies/Toxicity: There have been very few adverse health effects associated with the actual wood of willow (Salix genus), however, the bark and other parts of the tree have been reported as sensitizers. Usually most common reactions simply include skin and respiratory irritation.
Why is it called black willow?
Black willow is named for its dark gray-brown bark. The tree is the largest and most important New World willow and is one of the first trees to bud in the spring. The numerous uses of the wood of this and other willows are furniture doors, millwork, barrels, and boxes.
Is black willow medicinal?
Medicinal use of Black Willow: alba. It is taken internally in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, gout, inflammatory stages of auto-immune diseases, diarrhoea, dysentery, feverish illnesses, neuralgia and headache. The bark can be used as a poultice on cuts, wounds, sprains, bruises, swellings etc.
How long does a black willow take to grow?
Growth Rate: Extremely fast (3 to 4 feet per year over a 20 year period). Mature Shape: Large, low branching tree with long branches and flexible stems that form a broad, open, round-topped crown. Site Requirements: Prefers moist soils and are frequently found along ponds and streams. Needs full sun.
Are there different types of weeping willows?
The Weeping Willow is only one variety of the Willow family, of which there are approximately 400 species. From shrubs to swaying mammoths, the Willow family encompasses a match for you.
Is there a tree called black willow?
Salix nigra, commonly called black willow, is a medium-to-large, fast-growing, deciduous willow tree. It typically grows to 70-80' tall on single or multiple curved trunks, typically 1-2' thick, topped by a spreading, rounded but sometimes irregular crown.
Where should you not plant a weeping willow tree?
Do not plant near any underground power lines or sewers, since weeping willows have very long roots.
Is weeping willow and white willow the same?
Willow, white (Salix alba) Huge, sweeping and romantic, the white willow is a typical weeping willow. Spot it at riversides with leaves draped in the water where it feeds and shelters native wildlife. Its bark is grey-brown, developing deep fissures over time.
How to identify a willow tree?
To help in properly identifying the willow trees, you can reference a tree field guidebook, which you can obtain from your local library or agricultural extension office. Identify the weeping willow ("Salix babylonica") by its short trunk, long drooping branches that often touch the ground and mature size of 30 to 70 feet tall.
How tall is a white willow?
Growing 50 to 80 feet tall, the white willow has olive-green branches and yellowish brown twigs. The white willow is also distinguishable by its leaves, which have fine, silky hairs covering both the undersides and top surfaces. Writer Bio.
How wide are weeping willow leaves?
Found growing near bodies of water, the weeping willow has non-lobed, long, narrow and smooth leaves that are ¼ to ½ inch wide and 1 to 2 inches long or longer with finely toothed leaf edges.
What is the largest willow tree?
The pussy willow’s fuzzy catkins are the largest of all the willow species and the tree has long, narrow leaves with pale-colored undersides and finely double-toothed edges. The bark is grayish to reddish brown, starting out smooth and becoming scaly as the tree matures.
How tall does a crack willow tree get?
fragilis) by its ridged and deeply furrowed bark that’s dark brown to grayish black. The crack willow has yellow, brittle twigs, grows 50 to 80 feet tall and has long, narrow, smooth, ½-to-1½-inch-wide and more than 2-to-6-inch-long leaves with pale undersides and fine double teeth along the leaf edges.
What is a shining willow?
The shining willow bears small, fuzzy, capsule-like “fruits” containing seeds. The most recognizable willow tree species are the weeping willow and the pussy willow, but there are several other willows found in Europe, North America and Asia.
Where do willow trees grow?
You’ll find willow trees growing in wet soils, usually near bodies of water, such as along streams, rivers, lakes and swamps. Most willows have vigorous, wide-spreading root systems.
What is the color of willow leaves?
This type of willow grows upright and has gray-brown bark, smooth with diamond shaped lenticels in youth, rough and shallowly fissured when mature. Twisted, contorted twigs start slender, olive-green when young and mature to gray-brown. Like the twigs, leaves are often twisted. Foliage is simple, alternate, narrow, oval shaped, and finely serrated. Each leaf is shiny green above and off-white beneath. Fuzzy pale yellow-green flowers, called “catkins,” appear in early spring with the leaves. Each catkin is about one inch long. As these blooms mature, fruit appears in the form of one-inch clusters, small light brown fuzzy capsules that contain many small fuzzy seeds. These fruits ripen in late spring. Leaves become yellow in fall.
How big are willow leaves?
The leaves are dull blue-green in color and smooth in texture when mature; new leaves are coated in downy hairs. The leaves are up to 5 in long and 1.5 in wide. Like other willows, this plant is dioecious, with male and female plants producing small, dangling catkins.
How fast does a dappled willow grow?
In the fall, the leaves turn yellow and drop, revealing coral-red stems by winter. Dappled willows grow at a fast rate of 2-3 feet per year, achieving their maximum growth of 8-10 feet in just a few seasons. Their maximum width is also 8-10 feet, giving them a nice rounded shape that works extremely well as a privacy hedge when planted in a row. The dappled willow is native to Japan and Korea where it frequently grows near water, like along streams and in marshes. Its shoots were used in yesteryear for basket making.
How tall is a corkscrew willow tree?
Unfortunately, although corkscrew willow is a fast-growing tree, it isn’t long lived and tends to be susceptible to breakage and insect problems.The Corkscrew Willow Tree is often 30 feet tall, while some reach up to 40 feet .
What is a peachleaf willow?
Salix amygdaloides, also referred to as peachleaf willow, is a fast-growing deciduous small to medium tree with weeping branches. It is referred to as “peachleaf willow” because the leaves are pointed, just like those of peach trees.
What is a willow tree?
Willow trees have long been popular for their gracefully draped branches and elegant leaves that tremble and flutter in the breeze. Willows, also called sallows and osiers, form the genus Salix, are around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow. All willows are moisture-loving plants that will do well in wet, boggy conditions, and some are adaptable enough to also do well in dry soils.
How tall are white willows?
Salix alba, commonly referred to as the white willow is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing up to 10–30 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and an irregular, often-leaning crown. The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves. The bark is grey-brown, and deeply fissured in older trees. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The leaves are paler than most other willows, due to a covering of very fine, silky white hairs, in particular on the underside; they are 5–10 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide.
What is black willow?
The black willow is a close relative of the weeping willow, an ornamental native to the Orient. Black willow wood was used to make artificial limbs for people before the advent of plastics. Crates, boxes, charcoal and wooden ware are also products made from the wood.
How tall is a black willow tree?
Black willow averages about 50 to 65 feet in height, but specimens as tall as 138 feet exist, reports the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service site. The black willow will often develops multiple stems and the tree generally branches off at the trunk. The trunk sometimes contorts as the tree develops and the black willow often leans. The lance-shaped leaves grow to 6 inches long and have a slightly curved look. The thin, gray bark is smooth and the yellow flowers, called catkins, hang down and are 1 1/2 inches long. They develop into an orange capsule full of seeds by summer.
How long does it take for a black willow tree to mature?
The black willow can mature in as little as 30 years, but is not a long-lived species. You can quickly establish black willow in a wet spot, but need to be careful the tree, which produces a myriad of seeds, does not form an impenetrable thicket in the area.
What is the name of the willow tree that has a yellow flower?
They develop into an orange capsule full of seeds by summer. The black willow (Salix nigra) is the largest willow species in the New World, according to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees.
Why is black willow important?
As such, the black willow is important in preventing erosion and the tree can tolerate flooded ground for long periods . Black willow can be a valuable landscaping tree if you have an area of property that is constantly wet in which to plant it.
What is the purpose of the roots of a black willow?
The roots of the black willow, while shallow, are far-reaching and work to hold soil together.
Where does the Black Willow tree grow?
The black willow grows native from the Deep South into southern Texas and from there northward to Minnesota. The tree also grows now in many of the Western states after its introduction as a means to control erosion.
Where do black willow trees grow?
Black willow ranges over most of the eastern half of the United States and attains tree size throughout the greater part of its range, commercial production of its lumber occurs mainly in the alluvial bottomlands of the lower Mississippi River. The species grows best where the average annual rainfall is 51 inches, of which 20 inches falls during the growing season, April through August. The willow survives temperature extremes of 115ºF to -50ºF in parts of its range. Typically, the average maximum is 93ºF in summer and 60ºF in winter (Fowells, 1965).
Why are willows important to the ecosystem?
Conservation: One of the greatest services of the willows is as a soil-binder. Growing along the banks of countless streams, their fibrous roots help to prevent the soil from being washed away. Willow has been planted frequently to help stabilize the banks of eroding streams, to hold the soil in road cuts and embankments, and to bind shifting sands. Black willows dense root system is excellent for stabilizing eroding lands (Pitcher and McKnight, 1990).
How big is a Salix tree?
nigra (Pitcher and McKnight, 1990). A member of the Willow Family (Salicaceae), black willow is a small to medium-sized tree 30 to 60 ft high and about 14 inches in diameter (max. 140 by 9 ft) with a broad, irregular crown and a superficial root system (Dirr, 1977). The leaves are simple, alternate, deciduous; narrow, lance-shaped, with tapered tip, rounded base, 5-13 cm long, 8-12 mm wide; finely toothed margin; blade yellow-green on both sides with a few small hairs on the lower surface; petiole slender, 6-10 mm long. The bark is dark gray-brown to nearly blackish, divided into deep fissures separating thick, interlacing, sometimes scaly ridges (Harlow et al., 1979). Black willow is named for its dark gray-brown bark (Nix, 2010).
Can black willows be burned?
Although fires are rare in the bottomland areas where black willow grows, black willow is very susceptible to fire. Hot fires can kill entire stands of willows. Slow, light fires can seriously wound willows, allowing wood rooting fungi to enter. Young seedlings and saplings will be destroyed by fire. Black willow will sprout at the base following fire (Tesky, 1992; Pitcher and McKnight, 1990).
Black Willow Care
The most important care you can give a black willow is planning the right site to place the plant and deciding what form you'd like it to be. A black willow can be kept as a shrub by cutting it back to soil level every two to three years. The location you choose will affect care the most.
Types of Black Willow
There are not many cultivars of black willow available in the nursery trade. The lack of cultivars available is mostly because other species are more suitable for use in ornamental horticulture. One exception is the cultivar Salix nigra 'Webb', which is strikingly different from the straight species.
Pruning
Pruning should be done regularly to establish form, help establish structure, ensure a single leader's presence, and eliminate dead, damaged, and decaying limbs.
Common Pests and Plant Diseases
Your black willow is bothered by numerous pests and diseases that are luckily determined to be more of a nuisance than anything. The forest tent caterpillar, cottonwood leaf beetle, willow sawfly, and a few different species of borers are most often seen.