Salix alba Flame - White Willow

Salix alba 'Flame' is a cultivar of white willow or red osier valued for its flamboyant stems of bright orange-red that colour in the middle or end of autumn and continue to brighten the winter garden until spring. Its glossy green foliage turns golden yellow in autumn. It performs well when regularly pollarded and does not invade the garden. If allowed to grow in a clump, it can be used as a large windbreak. Ideal for brightening dark backgrounds, it is best suited for a large garden, to landscape the edges of ponds or natural pools.

Native to wet areas of the northern hemisphere, particularly Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa, Salix alba is a highly adaptable and fast-growing tree. It belongs to the Salicaceae family and the Salix genus, which includes no less than 300 species distributed in the cold regions of the northern hemisphere. This species is dioecious, meaning that female flowers and male flowers are borne on separate individuals.

The 'Flame' willow has a generally rounded habit, with the tree developing one or several trunks topped by a spreading, semi-open oval crown. Eventually, it will reach an average height of 6m and a width of 4m if not pruned. Severe and regular pollarding, however, will allow it to be trained as an upright bush. The long, flexible branches are reddish-orange to red, yellow-brown to grey, and hairy when young. They bear deciduous to semi-evergreen leaves, 10cm long, narrow, and lanceolate in shape. Both sides of the leaf are silky, with the upper side being shiny and deep green and the lower side silver-white. Flowering takes place in April-May, at the same time as the young leaves appear. The bark of this tree takes on a brownish-grey colour and cracks longitudinally with age. Its powerful root system, both taproot and spreading, is perfectly adapted to deep and unstable soils. For this reason, it is advisable to keep this willow away from drains and pipes. The white willow is also a medicinal plant, with its bark being the first source of aspirin. Salix alba can reach the venerable age of 100 years.

The 'Flame' white willow can be planted along the edge of a water feature in large gardens. Its red-toned wood will enliven the garden in winter, just like the coloured wood dogwoods with which it forms beautiful ensembles. Its foliage is valuable for bringing light to a darker setting, such as at the edges of the countryside. Among the plants that will accompany it near the water, you will find horsetails, reeds, loosestrifes, daylilies, Scirpus, and Typha angustifolia, for example.

Tips: Collect the fallen leaves in autumn and burn them if the tree shows black spots (anthracnose) or yellow-orange spots (rust) during its growth. Once all the leaves have fallen, treat with Bordeaux mixture.