Last summer at a nursery I bought a plant (large shrub/small tree)
which said it was a French Pussy Willow and appeared to be, as far as I
could tell by the type of branches, etc. It wasn't in bloom at the
time as it was, of course, summer. I planted it in June and carefully
nurtured it all summer. We had an unusually wet winter which started
early and was on and off warm and cold. The tree seemed to thrive. In
late winter/early spring I was thrilled to see what looked like catkins
forming. Now it is April and nothing coming out but green leaves--not
a "pussy" to be found anywhere on my "willow"!

Do the catkins not form till the tree is older, or does it vary
according to weather conditions? I am really disappointed in this and
wonder if I should complain to the nursery which sold it to me or just
"wait and see." Thanks for any help or advice!

Cori

wrote in message
ups.com...
Last summer at a nursery I bought a plant (large shrub/small tree)
which said it was a French Pussy Willow and appeared to be, as far as I
could tell by the type of branches, etc. It wasn't in bloom at the
time as it was, of course, summer. I planted it in June and carefully
nurtured it all summer. We had an unusually wet winter which started
early and was on and off warm and cold. The tree seemed to thrive. In
late winter/early spring I was thrilled to see what looked like catkins
forming. Now it is April and nothing coming out but green leaves--not
a "pussy" to be found anywhere on my "willow"!

Do the catkins not form till the tree is older, or does it vary
according to weather conditions? I am really disappointed in this and
wonder if I should complain to the nursery which sold it to me or just
"wait and see." Thanks for any help or advice!

Cori

The catkins on mine seemed to come from the first spring. This year they
began forming in February. Could it be they came and went without your
noticing?

James wrote:

The catkins on mine seemed to come from the first spring. This year they
began forming in February. Could it be they came and went without your
noticing?

They would have had to come extremely early, been extremely small, and
gone extremely fast for me to miss them--I am out there a lot! I read
that the catkins were male, but somewhere else said this tree has male
and female catkins, different types but both have them, so even if I
got a girl tree it should have still had catkins, right?

Cori

James wrote:

The catkins on mine seemed to come from the first spring. This year they
began forming in February. Could it be they came and went without your
noticing?

They would have had to come extremely early, been extremely small, and
gone extremely fast for me to miss them--I am out there a lot! I read
that the catkins were male, but somewhere else said this tree has male
and female catkins, different types but both have them, so even if I
got a girl tree it should have still had catkins, right?

Cori

wrote in message
ups.com...
James wrote:

The catkins on mine seemed to come from the first spring. This year they
began forming in February. Could it be they came and went without your
noticing?

They would have had to come extremely early, been extremely small, and
gone extremely fast for me to miss them--I am out there a lot! I read
that the catkins were male, but somewhere else said this tree has male
and female catkins, different types but both have them, so even if I
got a girl tree it should have still had catkins, right?

Cori


???????????????

James wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
James wrote:

The catkins on mine seemed to come from the first spring. This year they
began forming in February. Could it be they came and went without your
noticing?

They would have had to come extremely early, been extremely small, and
gone extremely fast for me to miss them--I am out there a lot! I read
that the catkins were male, but somewhere else said this tree has male
and female catkins, different types but both have them, so even if I
got a girl tree it should have still had catkins, right?

Cori


???????????????

I mean, the nursery didn't gyp me by selling me a girl if only the boys
have catkins and the catkins are the reason people prize pussywillows?
I was hoping its lack of them had something to do with either age or
weather conditions and it would straighten its little act up next year.

Cori

If my pussywillow would have had catkins, they should be fuzzing
out/blooming by now. Nothing. I wonder if there's any case of a tree
skipping having catkins one time, then having them another time?

Cori

*Sigh*. Guess I'll just wait till next year and hope for the best....

Cori

I hope you found out - mine did not produce the catkins either. It is
still in the pot and the others at the same nursery were beginning their
catkins. I thought mine would fuzz out a week or two after I got it
home, but only green leaves..

However I did read this:
You can even cut the tree back to a six inch stump every 2-3 years
(severe pruning results in the longer stems and larger catkins). Flowers
form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so
do not prune until after the flowers have faded.

so many ours were not pruned enough...

and

Of course, you will also be pruning with an eye to shaping the pussy
willow shrubs to suit your tastes. Use sharp anvil pruners and make your
cuts above nodes. Cutting above nodes that grow along the outside (i.e.,
furthest from the center of the shrubs) of branches is most effective.
An offshoot from the outer part of a branch will grow outward and is
less likely to cross over other branches. Branches of pussy willows that
are already crossing should be removed. They shade each other, reducing
the number of catkins.

and

Flowers - borne on catkins; male and female catkins on separate plants;
appearing and maturing before the leaves late May to early June.

wrote:
*Sigh*. Guess I'll just wait till next year and hope for the best....

Cori

At last, helpful support and practical advice!

The tree was very much pruned when I got it, but has grown quite a bit.
I will prune it in the fall when it's dormant. Thanks!

Cori

Sterling wrote:
I hope you found out - mine did not produce the catkins either. It is
still in the pot and the others at the same nursery were beginning their
catkins. I thought mine would fuzz out a week or two after I got it
home, but only green leaves..

However I did read this:
You can even cut the tree back to a six inch stump every 2-3 years
(severe pruning results in the longer stems and larger catkins). Flowers
form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so
do not prune until after the flowers have faded.

so many ours were not pruned enough...

and

Of course, you will also be pruning with an eye to shaping the pussy
willow shrubs to suit your tastes. Use sharp anvil pruners and make your
cuts above nodes. Cutting above nodes that grow along the outside (i.e.,
furthest from the center of the shrubs) of branches is most effective.
An offshoot from the outer part of a branch will grow outward and is
less likely to cross over other branches. Branches of pussy willows that
are already crossing should be removed. They shade each other, reducing
the number of catkins.

and

Flowers - borne on catkins; male and female catkins on separate plants;
appearing and maturing before the leaves late May to early June.

wrote:
*Sigh*. Guess I'll just wait till next year and hope for the best....

Cori

Talked to a couple of nursery guys. One said never to cut anything
back by more than a third, so I'll let it grow as much as it's going to
this summer, then cut it back by a third in the fall.

Cori