Missouri Willow Tree

Go native with beneficial trees that support your local biodiversity! The Missouri Willow Tree (Salix eriocephala) also called the Missouri River Willow, features slender green twigs that are dense and shrubby, providing dense cover and nesting sites for a wide variety of birds while casting light shade!

Spring brings long yellowish-green catkins for unique interest and a burst of color when you need it most as Willows are one of the earliest spring bloomers and an important food source for emerging bees and other beneficial insects. Maturing into dark-gray, scaly bark for winter interest, the compact growth yet graceful and fine-textured trees are filled with long, slender foliage that shimmers in the slightest breeze!

These are keystone native wetland trees that support a large number of insects and local songbirds feed on those insects. Plus Wilows provide nesting sites, and even the fluffy summer seeds are used literally as nesting by Hummingbirds and other species to line their nests with! Migrating and local birds eat the seeds throughout USDA growing zones 5 to 9.

Planting and Application:

Missouri Willow (and almost all types of Salix) are wetland trees and love moist to occasionally soggy conditions! Great additions to the Rain Garden or along rivers, ponds, and other water features in the landscape, the tree's roots hold soil from eroding and stabilize banks, and help filter runoff from driveways and parking lots!

Plant one where water pools or drains in your landscape and if you have a damp basement, plant one of these 8 to 12-foot tall trees about 15 feet from your home and watch that basement dry up! Larger Willow trees can soak up gallons of water a day but this much smaller Willow variety fits into about any sized landscape!

A large shrub or small tree with some pruning, Willows are great thicket-forming habitat and light shade that won't out-shade your lawn! Just plant yours away from underground water sources and septic systems to keep the roots from potentially getting into trouble.

• Gorgeous Native Tree!
• Unusual White Spring Fragrant Flowers
• Showy, Smaller Ornamental Tree
• Airy Graceful Loose Branching
• Berries on Female Plants - Have Culinary Uses & Wildlife Love Them
• White Flowers On Male & Female Plants
• Unique Specimen & Accents, Hedges, Flowing Screening & Small-Scale Focal Points

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Willow Trees like the Missouri River Willow thrive in both full sun to partial sun and tolerate wet to moist conditions, and loam, sand, or gravel! They do just as beautifully in regular landscape conditions as they do in flood plains and swampy regions! Just ensure they have some drainage and their location doesn't become stagnant. Prune in the late winter or early spring to shape and control size. Plant with Nature Hills Root Booster, for lifelong root support. These and all plants appreciate a 3-4 inch deep layer of arborist mulch to hold in soil moisture more consistently and insulate the roots from heat and chill.

• Full Sun & Partial Shade
• Any Well-Drained Soil Types
• Average to High to Wet Moisture Conditions
• Prune When Dormant
• Shrub or Tree With Training

Soft and textured, flowing trees, the flowing and beautiful native Missouri Willow trees are fantastic dappled shade specimens! Order these wetland-loving, bird-friendly trees at NatureHills.com today!