PLEASE help identify this salix tree or bush

windsor224

Hi, This is my first post here.

I know that this is a type of salix but I do not know which one. I bought it as a plain stick at a garden fair last year. I may have planted it too close to the septic field so I'm trying very hard to identify the variety or type of salix so I can research it more.

I really don't know if it is a tree or shrub. It didn't have any branches in the spring so I don't know what type of catkins it has. Can anyone identify it from the trunk or branches or leaves? I would be so appreciative of any info. I live in Bucks County, Pa. Thanks, Sandy

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bsearcey

The leaves are similiar to Black willow (S. nigra), but there are so many variations in willows that it would be hard to tell with out some very close inspections of leaf scars, bud scales, flower, etc. I'm pretty familiar with both white and black willow, and both are hydrophytes. I would lean on the side of caution and move it. Willows are very hardy, so you should have no problems moving it without having to dig too big of a root ball.

derwoodii

Try Chilean Pencil Willow Salix humboldtiana 'Pyramidalis as a maybe

Weeds Australia - Weed Identification - Chilean Pencil Willow

windsor224

Thanks so much for the responses. Anyone else with an idea will be greatly appreciated. I'll do my research and take the advice to move it. Sandy

Brent Ferris

As bsearcey so aptly notes, willows are difficult to tell apart. They generally grow fast, and moving should be no problem. Be sure you plant it well away from any building --including your neighbours.

Unless it a variety that is a low growing shrub, (and one of your pics strongly suggests it is not), most willows look best, in someone else's yard. The wood tends to be quite brittle, branches fall almost weekly, and after almost every storm. Cleanup is a constant job.

However, they can also be a beautiful tree to behold. They are usually one of the first to leaf out in the spring, and one of the last to lose its leaves in the fall. They can enhance a property's values, and many memories are associated with the trees. Kids love to climb them. IF it is a Black willow, expect a height of 70 to 80 ft, a weeping willow -- a bit higher, a pussy willow -- 40 to 50 ft (and a much shorter life).

They tend to be short lived (in the trees world) -- around 80 years of age, more branches die and fall, and if they live as long as 120 they are fast succumbing to age and decay. Because of their rapid growth habit, once trimmed they regrow very fast, often with 10-20 suckers from every cut. The trees look best if trimming can be avoided. Thus the caution to plant the tree well on its own. Their brittleness also limits the number of people willing to climb the tree -- high danger.

Willows, like many trees need water to grow. A septic field will provide water AND nutrients, a combination hard to beat for a tree - it will think it is in paradise. Plant well away from the septic field, and of possible establish a root barrier between the tree and the septics.

dcarter

Didn't dig into your pics much, but could be Salix longipes, Coastal Plain Willow. We have lots of it growing native in SE US.

Eden Keeper

Black willow does not have white(ish) undersides on the leaves. If so that eliminates about everything else expected, but if not then it gets hard to tell.

windsor224

This is my willow's first spring and I've added the buds to help identify. Any ideas or confirmations? I wish we could post and little larger picture. Hope you can see it OK. Thanks a lot.

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