Detailed Explanation of Silver Willow Planting Methods and Technical Points

Silver willow is a large shrub in the genus Salix of the family Salicaceae, reaching up to 5 m in height, with gray bark. Buds are ovate; leaf blades are shortly acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, with finely glandular-serrate margins, green above, densely tomentose and glossy beneath, midrib pale brown, petiole brown and tomentose; flowers open before the leaves, stamens free, glabrous; female catkins have a short peduncle, style brown, stigma about as long as the style; bracts are ovate; it flowers from May to June and fruits from July to August. Because its flowering fragrance resembles that of Jiangnan osmanthus and it is extremely tenacious, it is praised as the "fragrant osmanthus of the desert."

Growing Environment

 Silver willow has strong vitality and is drought-resistant, wind-sand resistant, salt-alkali tolerant, and barren tolerant. Silver willow is generally distributed in desert and semi-desert areas with precipitation below 150 mm, and is related to a shallow groundwater table; when the groundwater table is below 4 m, growth is poor. Silver willow has relatively high heat requirements, and when accumulated temperature is below 2500°C, it sets less fruit. It begins to sprout only when the active accumulated temperature exceeds 5°C, enters peak growth above 10°C, and enters the flowering period above 16°C.

Propagation Methods

Silver bud willow is commonly propagated by cuttings and roots very easily. For early spring cuttings, cut plump one-year-old branches into 20-30 cm sections and insert them at random into moist soil to survive; after rooting, plant them out in the field.

Cultivation Techniques

Silver bud willow is simple to cultivate and extensively managed. Each year in early spring after the flowers fade, it should be cut back flat at 5 cm above the ground to encourage more new branches to sprout. In management, attention should also be paid to fertilizing, especially in winter when flower buds begin to swell and after cutting flowering branches, and timely irrigation in summer; only in this way can silver bud willow grow well and have higher ornamental value.

Care and Management

Silver willow has well-developed lateral roots and a very wide root spread; in loose soil it can produce many root nodules, among which nitrogen-fixing rhizobia can also improve soil fertility and amend the soil. Lateral branches have strong sprouting ability, while the terminal bud grows weakly. The branches are dense and often form thick clumps. After branches are buried by sand, they readily grow adventitious roots and have a windbreak and sand-fixation effect; its salt-alkali tolerance is also relatively strong, but varies with the type of salt, with stronger adaptability to sulfate soils and weaker resistance to chlorides.