Tree · Salicaceae
Weeping Willow
Salix babylonica
Set beside water with room to spread, the weeping willow gives a garden its quiet, sweeping centerpiece.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 6–8
30–50 ft · 9.1–15.2 m
Overview
Few trees set a mood the way a weeping willow does. Its long, trailing branches fall almost to the ground and drift with the lightest breeze, lending a still, romantic softness to any waterside view. A member of the willow family, it has carried the name Salix babylonica for centuries, though its story actually begins in China.
This is a fast-growing tree that establishes a presence quickly, rising to 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and just as wide within a few years. Such scale asks for the right setting. The wood is brittle and the roots range far in search of moisture, so the willow belongs on open, generous ground, kept clear of drains, paving, and foundations.
Given sun and damp soil, it settles in with ease and becomes the anchor of a landscape. The trade is a little seasonal tidying, since it sheds litter, loses limbs in storms, and lives a fairly short life for its size. Give it space and water nearby, and it rewards a garden with an unmistakable, graceful, drooping silhouette.
Care
The short version: place it in full sun and damp ground near water, set aside open space well clear of pipes and pavement, and shape the brittle wood in late winter so storms leave the form intact.
Light
Weeping willow looks and grows its best in full sun, though it accepts a measure of partial shade. Generous light fills out a denser, healthier canopy, that full curtain of foliage the tree is admired for, and it dries the leaves quickly to keep fungal trouble at bay.
Water
This is a tree that belongs beside water and asks for consistently moist soil. It flourishes at the edge of ponds and streams, takes standing water and the occasional flood in stride, and shapes many a waterside setting. A short dry spell is manageable, but a drought without irrigation prompts it to shed leaves.
Soil
Weeping willow is refreshingly unfussy about its ground. It adapts to clay, loam, or sand and to acidic or alkaline soil alike, and unlike most trees it settles happily into poor drainage and wet, low-lying sites where little else will thrive.
Temperature
The tree is hardy across a broad range, holding from -9°F to 100°F (-23°C to 38°C). That resilience suits it to most temperate gardens, carrying its form through cold winters and warm summers.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all it needs, so humidity is nothing to manage. What matters more is open air movement, since a still, crowded canopy is where leaf diseases take hold.
Feeding
A balanced general-purpose tree fertilizer in early spring supports a young tree as it establishes. Once settled on a moist site, it rarely needs feeding and keeps its fast pace unaided.
Pruning
Prune in late winter to early spring, before the leaves break, taking out dead, weak, and storm-damaged wood. Because the wood is brittle and gives way under ice and snow, easing back weak crotches now preserves the tree's shape through the seasons.
Repotting
This is a landscape tree for open ground rather than a container, so there is no repotting to consider. Beginning with nursery stock, plant it out before the roots circle the pot or lift and girdle at the base.
Size & spacing
Plan for a large tree that reaches 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and spreads just as wide. Reserve that full 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) of open ground so the roots and sweeping crown have room to compose the scene, well away from buildings and pipes.
When to plant
Weeping willow finds its place in the ground in spring or fall, once the soil is workable and the sharpest cold has lifted. The catkins arrive early, in April and May, opening with or just before the leaves and marking the season's turn along the water's edge.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring or fall, after the ground is workable
- Harvest: Catkins appear in early spring (April to May), before or with the leaves
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–8
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Most willow concerns surface on the leaves, the shoots, or the brittle limbs, and a tree of this scale and speed can carry a problem quietly before it shows across the canopy. Knowing the early signs below keeps the tree looking its best. Match what you see, then respond.
Woody swellings at the crown and a declining tree
Tumor-like galls at the crown and roots mark crown gall, a bacterium with no cure once it takes hold. In wet, airless soil the roots may also rot and darken. Remove and destroy a badly galled tree, correct the drainage where rot is the cause, and never wound the roots or lower trunk during work.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy severely galled plants
- Avoid wounding roots and crown during cultivation
- Improve drainage where root rot is suspected
Blackened shoots and scabby leaves in spring
When willow scab and black canker settle on one tree, the pair is called willow blight, and the fresh shoots blacken and die back quickly. Cut out and burn the blighted, cankered growth, clear away every fallen leaf, and open the canopy so air can circulate. A labeled fungicide has a place only in a difficult year, and only alongside that careful cleanup.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy blighted and cankered shoots
- Rake and remove fallen infected leaves
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead wetting
- Apply a labeled fungicide in severe cases following extension guidance
Sticky, curling leaves or sawdust on the bark
Curling leaves under a sticky film usually signal aphids or scale feeding, while sawdust and entry holes on the trunk point to borers. Rinse aphids off with water or treat scale with horticultural oil, and keep the tree well watered so borers find it a harder target. Any branch the borers have tunneled is best cut out and destroyed.
Fix:
- Hose off or treat aphids; horticultural oil for scale
- Maintain vigor with adequate water to limit borer attack
- Remove and destroy borer-infested branches
- Use labeled insecticides only when infestations are severe
Limbs that split and break in storms
Willow wood is brittle by nature, and limbs tear at narrow crotches whenever ice, snow, or wind bears down. Prune out broken and weak branches as soon as they appear, and shorten any overlong limb so storms have less to catch. Shaping the tree while young builds stronger attachments that keep the form for years.
Fix:
- Prune out broken and weak limbs promptly
- Reduce overextended branches to lessen storm loading
- Remove deadwood regularly
Toxicity
For a household that shares the garden with pets, the weeping willow is reassuring, since it is not a poisonous tree. The leaves and twigs sit safely around cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, livestock, and birds, and rabbits take to willow as a browse. The one note to keep is that the bark holds salicylates, the natural source of aspirin, so it should not be eaten in quantity.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A nibble of willow leaf will not poison a cat. As with any greenery, a stomach unused to plants may turn briefly unsettled, so guide a determined chewer toward a better option.
Dogs None
Weeping willow is safe in a dog's company, and a curious mouthful of leaves does no real harm. Discourage a dog from stripping bark in quantity, since it carries the salicylates behind aspirin.
Horses None
Horses browse willow without trouble, and the foliage has long been regarded as harmless to them.
Rabbits Safe
Willow leaves and twigs make a familiar safe browse for rabbits, often offered as a gnawing treat.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze willow without ill effect, and the leaves pose no poisoning risk to a grazing herd.
Birds Safe
Birds nest and forage among willows freely, and neither the foliage nor the catkins threaten them.
People Safe
Weeping willow is not a poisonous tree, so the leaves pose no danger to people. Worth noting is that the bark carries salicylates, the natural source of aspirin, so it should not be eaten in any quantity.
No special toxicity handling required; as with any plant, discourage pets from chewing large quantities of foliage or bark.
Varieties
A few named willows distinguish themselves by form or color, and each brings its own character to a planting.
Tortuosa (Corkscrew / Contorted Willow, Dragon's Claw Willow)
Its branches, shoots, and leaves twist into a corkscrew that reads best on new growth and turns into a striking winter feature once the tree is bare.
Golden Weeping Willow (Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma')
A vigorous hybrid whose bright golden-yellow branches bring warmth to the bare winter garden.
Aurea
A selection prized for the warm golden tone its young stems lend a planting.
How to propagate
Willow is among the most obliging of trees to multiply, and a single specimen can furnish a garden with several young plants from cuttings or a layered branch.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Late winter to early spring (hardwood) or summer (softwood) · Several weeks to root; rapid establishment thereafter
Few trees take to propagation as willingly as willow. Hardwood cuttings taken in late winter or early spring, or softwood ones in summer, root within a few weeks, and even a bare length set into moist soil will strike before growing away fast. This is the usual route to a new tree.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One season
A low branch will layer on its own. Held against moist ground from spring through summer, it roots where it touches and gives a new plant within a single season.
Myths
Weeping willow is poisonous to dogs and cats and must be kept from pets.
Willows do not appear on the ASPCA toxic-plant lists, and the closely related purpleosier willow is listed as non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. The true concerns are aggressive roots and brittle wood, not poison. The bark does hold salicylates, the natural aspirin compound, so it should not be eaten in quantity.
Weeping willows are tough, long-lived shade trees that suit a small yard.
They grow fast but live briefly and call for steady attention. The wood is brittle and the roots range hard for water, working into drains and sewers and lifting pavement, which makes the tree a poor fit for a compact or built-up setting.