holosericea

An extremely vigorous willow with strong stems after coppicing. Very upright in habit and great for large structures. The foliage is a rich dark green and the leaves are ovate as are its parent S. cinerea and displays evidence of Salix viminalis by the length of the flowering stems. I have counted up to seventy blossoms on a single stem; this means that it must be a great resource for bees. We obtained cuttings of this hybrid from several different sources and they are identical. A willow we bought as ‘Bowles Hybrid’ looks very similar to this; it’s possible we received the wrong thing, as ‘Bowles Hybrid’ is said to have very long leaves like S. viminalis, whereas these leaves are more like S. cinerea! As I write this in mid-October with blazing autumn color all around, these are still a rich dark green! In the first year after planting, this cross has a tendency to grow somewhat sideways! Simply coppice these hard to the ground in the second year and they will grow vertically.