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Dappled Willow

Dappled Willow

Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki'

Item #7061 USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 - 9

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Plant Description

Weeping branches display striking pink stems and buds, surrounded by foliage mottled with white, green and pink highlights. The brightly colored stems provide excellent winter interest. This graceful shrub is a delightful garden accent. Easily maintained at a smaller size with regular pruning. Deciduous.

  • Overview
    Light Needs:
    Partial to full sun
    Watering Needs:
    Water regularly - weekly, or more often in extreme heat.
    Average Landscape Size:
    Reaches 15 to 20 ft. tall and wide; maintain at 6 to 10 ft. with pruning.
    Key Feature:
    Dramatic Foliage Color
    Blooms:
    Showy catkins in spring linger through fall.
    Landscape Uses:
    Border, Hedge, Specimen, Very Wet Areas, Woodland Garden
  • Detail
    Botanical Pronunciation:SAY-liks in-te-GRA
    Plant type:Shrub
    Deciduous/evergreen:Deciduous
    Growth rate:Fast
    Average landscape size:Reaches 15 to 20 ft. tall and wide; maintain at 6 to 10 ft. with pruning.
    Special features:Dramatic Foliage Color, Fast Growing, Tolerates Road Salt
    Foliage color:Green
    Blooms:Showy catkins in spring linger through fall.
    Flower color:Yellow
    Flower attributesShowy Flowers
    Garden styleAsian/Zen, Contemporary
    Design IdeasThis beauty emerges out of the gardens of Japan where it was bred for its unique semi-weeping form and singular seasonal changes. It is an understory species of the shade garden, thriving under canopy trees both evergreen and deciduous. Its traditional use is beside streams and water features in Asian gardens where, like most willows, it is tolerant of perennial damp and seepage. The drooping form is considered a fluid accent for natural waterways. Cold hardiness makes these shrubs an ideal candidate for natural woodlands or combined with American natives with similar requirements for more varied early spring interest.
    Companion PlantsForsythia (Forsythia); Dogwood (Cornus); Bee Balm (Monarda); Clethra (Clethra); Turtlehead (Chelone)
  • Care
    Care Information
    Easy to grow; thrives in moist, enriched soils. Water deeply and regularly during the first growing season to establish an extensive root system; reduce frequency, once established. Apply fertilizer in spring. Foliage is most colorful on new growth; prune once or twice during growing season for a flush of colorful new foliage.Pruning time: winter; may be pruned vigorously to maintain smaller size..
    Light Needs:
    <strong>Partial Sun / Partial Shade</strong>: These two terms are often used interchangeably to mean 3-6 (or 4-6) hours of sunlight each day. However, there is a difference. <strong>Partial shade</strong> typically means the plants will appreciate a more gentle exposure such as the weaker morning or early afternoon sun, with the emphasis on providing the minimum needed shade and sheltering from intense late afternoon sun. <strong>Partial sun</strong> typically means the plants <u>need</u> some direct sun, so the emphasis is on meeting the required minimum hours of sunlight, with filtered sunlight or shade the balance of the day. Both are best with shelter from the harshest late afternoon sun. This shade could be provided by a structure, a wall, larger plants or tree(s).
    Partial to full sun
    Watering Needs:
    Water needs: Moderate
    Water regularly - weekly, or more often in extreme heat.
  • History & Lore
    History:
    Salix integra is a species native to Japan and Korea, found in low lying areas in conjunction with streams, seeps and marshes. It is often classified among the basket willows as S. purpurea var. multinervis, so very little information is available under the standard species name. It is grouped into the Saliaceae with three hundred other species. This Japanese cultivar was introduced to the west by the great Dutch hosta breeder, Harry Van Der Laar in 1979.
    Lore:
    The entire clan of genus Salix has always been vital to the ethnobotany of cultures within its range. Long flexible whip-like growth is essential to basket making and the weaving of wattle fences. It is the primary material of early daub and wattle construction. Willow bark can also contain aspirin-like compounds, so these plants are an essential component of materia medica down through the ages, used by housewives and apothecaries alike.