When do willow trees generally sprout?

Willow is the general term for a class of plants in the genus Salix of the family Salicaceae. Its name comes from the pollarding method used on willow trees. It is mainly distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is suited to a variety of different ecological environments. It grows in mountains, plains, sand dunes and polar regions alike, and in our country it has a cultivation history of more than 4000 years. Now let us take a look together at when willow trees sprout!

When do willow trees sprout?

Willow trees generally sprout in spring, flowering at the same time or flowering before the leaves emerge, without a terminal bud, with lateral buds usually held close against the branch, a single bud scale, and alternate leaves, rarely opposite, usually narrow and long, mostly lanceolate, with pinnate veins, serrate or entire margins. He Zhizhang of the Tang Dynasty wrote, “A tall tree dressed in jasper, ten thousand branches hanging down green silk ribbons. Who cut out these fine leaves? The February spring wind is like scissors” - this describes willow trees sprouting,

When do willow trees bloom?

The flowering period of willow trees is generally from March to April on the Gregorian calendar, or the 2nd to 3rd lunar month. The flowers are generally white (some are red), in catkins that are upright or slanting, opening before the leaves or at the same time as the leaves, rarely after the leaves, with bracts entire, hairy or hairless, persistent, rarely early deciduous. The male catkins are 2 to 4 cm long, and the female catkins are about 2 cm long.

When do willow trees bear fruit?

Willow seeds generally mature from April to May and have white down on them. Because they scatter in the wind like floating catkins, they are called willow catkins. Bai Juyi wrote, “In the third month all is white-haired daylight, parting from aging spring is even more lingering. Ask the oriole to tell the poplar flowers, entangle the spring wind and do not let it return” - this describes willow catkins. Su Shi wrote, “Pear blossoms pale white, willows deep green; when willow catkins fly, flowers fill the city” - this also describes willow catkins.