nigra

Another vigorous species, the Black Willow will grow over a 100ft tall; it makes an imposing tree with deeply furrowed bark. It is the largest-growing native willow in the USA and grows wild in the Eastern half of the country. It one of the most common trees in Vermont on river banks and other damp areas; I’ve even found it growing in a foot of water in Lake Champlain. We have a tiny plant on my property beside a beaver pond–obviously there were more before supper! It has now been caged! It has bright green, twiggy young growth that is great if dried and used as plant supports for perennials (if you don’t dry them they’ll start to grow!). Black Willow is represented in the West by the botanically similar Salix gooddingii that I have recently obtained cuttings of (sadly these died to the ground in the winter of ’18/’19, but sprouted at the base.