25-02-2004, 08:06 PM
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weeping pussy willow
Pam - gardengal" wrote:
It will not get significantly taller. You may get some slight extension of
the rootstock, but generally, the point at which they attach the graft is as
tall as it (the rootstock) will get and the weeping portion will not grow
upward, but will continue to cascade down. These branches will of course
continue to grow. What you will have is a minature tree, most suitable to
container growth, but likely to get lost in the landscape unless planted in
a prominent location. Not sure if I'd personally want to feature such a
specimen myself, but you may have a different idea.
Thanks for the info. No, I plan to keep it in a pot or container. I have too
small a yard for a regular size pussy willow, but I will probably just set this
out on the patio during warm weather.
Grafted weeping willows are pretty common, usually a form of Salix caprea.
They are perfectly hardy little trees upto zone 6. If the tree was purchased
bare root (without any soil around it), it needs to receive some attention
immediately - those bare roots can dry out quickly and the tree will suffer
and very likely die. Soak the roots for a couple of hours in a bucket of
water and plant into a container. If it is already potted, then inside a
house is too warm and will force it to break dormancy - it needs a very cool
location until you can put it outside. If your soil is workable and you are
in an appropriate zone, I'd plant it outside ASAP.
No, I'm in zone 5. I was told at the garden center that this type of tree is
hothouse conditioned and couldn't survive the shock if it were planted outside
right now, but has to stay indoors until the weather is warm. It came in a pot
and I repotted it to a larger pot. When you say it will break dormancy
indoors--do you mean the catkins will flower? It already had catkins when I
bought it, and they are now flowering. Can't it survive indoors until spring? I
had assumed it would begin to leaf out after it was done flowering.
I guess that leads me to another question--does this type of pussy willow
require a period of cold weather dormancy next winter in order to have catkins
in the spring next year? I was not planning to leave it outside in a container
during the coldest months.
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