‘Mt. Aso’ Japanese Pink Pussy Willow

bare-root plants

Salix gracilistyla

6x6' Possibly a hybrid of S. gracilistyla x S. caprea. Male specimen selected in Japan by Dr. Tsuneshige Rokujo. Mount Aso-san is Japan’s largest active volcano.

Pink buds open to electric pink catkins for a stunning early spring display. When the plants in our stark warehouse began to reveal their darling daubs of pink, the crew gathered round and cooed as if we’d discovered baby bunnies. Excellent in cutflower arrangements.

Foliage opens pink and turns rich blue-green with prominent veins and soft fuzzy undersides. Catkins form on second-year wood. Coppice just after flowering to keep form pulled in and less rangy. Easy to maintain. Prefers full sun and sandy soils but will do fine in average or moist conditions. Z4. (1-2' plugs)

ships in spring

7664 ‘Mt. Aso’ Japanese Pink Pussy Willow

A: 1 ea

$20.00

Shipping

Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered on or before February 20 will ship from March through early May, starting with warmer areas and finishing in colder areas.

Orders placed after February 20 will ship from late April through early-to-mid May.

Additional Information

Small Trees and Shrubs

As Green’s Nursery catalog from 1904 explains, “There are many trees that by pruning can be made to resemble shrubs, and many shrubs that by different pruning may be made to produce medium-sized trees.”

Willows Salix spp.

The genus Salix comprises hundreds of different species of plants most commonly called willows but sometimes called Osier or Sallow. Willows grow all over the world. Some, like the weeping willow, are towering specimens. Others are short scrubby bushes; willows growing in the arctic can be 100 years old but only 2' tall! Uses include ornamental landscaping, shade, basketmaking, erosion control, timber, fuel and medicine. All parts, especially the bark, contain salicin, used for relief of pain and fever for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. Aspirin is a synthetic analog of salicin. Willows feed local wildlife, insects and birds. We plant them near the orchard to provide early season forage for our native pollinators. All prefer sun and loamy wet soils, but are adaptable, easily transplanted and fast growing.