March 2023: Pussy Willow
The male Pussy Willow catkins appear first in spring. Photo by Gilles Carter.
This month, Sarah W. Middeleer writes about a native plant whose flowers signal early spring. Sarah is a landscape designer whose work focuses on ecology and designing for wildlife. She serves as vice chair of the Connecticut Audubon Board of Directors.
Write to her at homegrown@ctaudubon.org.
Have you had just about enough of the winter landscape, with its gray skies and cold winds? Well, I have a solution for you: pussy willow (Salix discolor), native to our region and much of North America.
It will burst forth into flower anytime now in defiance of this chilly season. Its delightful catkins first appear as silvery, furry puffs. Kids love pussy willow, and it makes for a fun gardening project with children, easy to propagate from stem cuttings. In fact, when you bring branches inside now to display in a vase, they very well may begin to form roots. Later in the spring they can be planted outside. (Be aware that grocery store or florist branches may not be from our native pussy willow and may thus not support our pollinators and birds.)
Male and female flowers appear on separate plants. The showier, kitten-soft male catkins (catkin is from the Dutch “kattekin” or kitten tail) emerge earlier and display yellow stamens as they develop. The later female catkins are larger and tipped in green. So try to plant a few pussy willows together, to help ensure that you have both male and female plants.
Aside from giving us much needed cheer in an otherwise rather bleak time of year, pussy willow offers a bounty of benefits to pollinators and birds. In fact, native members of the willow (Salix) family are considered keystone species, a term that signifies high value to wildlife.
Pussy willow foliage feeds at least 375 species of caterpillars, including those of the mourning cloak, red-spotted purple, and viceroy butterflies. Their larvae are a critical food source for songbird nestlings. Pussy willow also attracts birds for cover and nesting. It is an important pollen and nectar source for native bees emerging in early spring and supports many specialist bees (meaning that these bees depend on pussy willow for their survival).
So when you see that leaves on your garden plants, especially keystone plants like pussy willow, are being munched by caterpillars, please try to learn who those “culprits” are. Some may be harmful pests, but many will likely be providing needed food for ravenous baby birds or supporting another important ecological function. And even heavy browsing by caterpillars doesn’t necessarily spell doom, or even serious harm, for the plant.
Native members of the willow (Salix) family are considered keystone species, a term that signifies high value to wildlife. Photo by Gilles Carter
Pussy willow grows 10-20 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide. It suckers, spreading quite rapidly. You can control suckering by cutting out the spreading roots, but its propensity to spread and form thickets is incredibly valuable to wildlife. Note: locate pussy willow away from septic systems and sewer lines, since its roots will seek moisture and may cause damage to them.
In the wild, pussy willow is typically found on moist ground, including wetlands, roadside ditches, wet meadows, and streambanks. But in the garden it can tolerate somewhat drier conditions. It can also tolerate part shade but will perform best in full sun.
Pussy willow makes an excellent unclipped hedge. It is also good for pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and children’s gardens.
This year I hope to replace an overgrown forsythia patch located in a moist area of the yard with a massing of pussy willows and winterberries, with maybe some inkberries for an evergreen element. An extended family of House Sparrows seem to depend on that forsythia thicket, so I’m hoping that replacing it with native shrubs will attract more native birds.
Across centuries and continents, pussy willow has come to symbolize hope, safety, blessings, and prosperity. Native Americans are said to have used pussy willow for medicinal purposes (the bark contains salicin—hence the Latin genus name Salix—a compound later used in aspirin), and for making rope, baskets, cooking tools, and nets. One source reports that chewed willow leaves placed on a bee sting prevents swelling.
Do you have pussy willow on your property or nearby? Let us know if you observe interesting visitors on these valuable plants as the seasons progress.
As always, please send comments and questions to: homegrown@ctaudubon.org.
Resources
Books
Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, The Living Landscape Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, Timber Press, 2014
Websites
North Carolina Extention Gardener Plant Toolbox
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
