Salix alba
Salix alba
Salix alba
Salix alba
White Willow, European Willow
This tree has recovered well. It is one of 10 trees that survived from an order of 18.
Diane, 23/09/2025
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This plant carries a 24 months recovery warranty
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We guarantee the quality of our plants for a full growing cycle, and will replace at our expense any plant that fails to recover under normal climatic and planting conditions.
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Description
The Salix alba, known as white or silver willow, is part of our landscapes and culture. It has always been found along watercourses and in wet places, often pruned in a pollarded style during the harvest of its long flexible branches used in basketry. When left to grow freely, this large and beautiful tree displays an elegant upright and trailing habit, and its broad rounded crown is adorned with glossy foliage that reveals a silver underside in the wind. A willow tree always adds a romantic atmosphere to the garden. This one, ideal for illuminating dark backgrounds, is best suited for a large garden to enhance the surroundings of large bodies of water.
Originally from wet areas of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa, Salix alba is a highly adaptable tree with very rapid growth, reaching 20m (65 ft 7 in) in height and 10m (32 ft 10 in) in spread. It belongs to the family Salicaceae and the genus Salix, which includes no less than 300 species distributed in cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Its habit is generally rounded, with the tree developing one or several trunks topped by a wide crown. The long, flexible branches are grey-pink and pubescent when young. They bear deciduous to semi-evergreen leaves, 10 cm (3.9 in) long, narrow and lanceolate in shape. Both sides of the lamina are silky, with the upper side shiny and deep green and the lower side white-silver. Flowering occurs in April-May, at the same time as the young leaves appear. The male catkins are slender, 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2 in) long, arched and spreading, yellowish. The female catkins are smaller, denser, and green. The bark of this tree takes on a grey-brown colour and cracks longitudinally as it ages. Its robust taproot and spreading root system perfectly adapts to deep and unstable soils.
For this reason, it is advisable to keep this willow away from pipes. 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.
White willow can be planted as a solitary tree or on the edge of a body of water in large gardens. Its silver foliage is valuable for bringing light to a darker ensemble, for example, at the boundaries of the countryside. You can find horsetails, reeds, willowherbs, daylilies, bulrushes, and Typha angustifolia, for example, among the plants that can accompany it near the water.
Tip: Collect 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 them with a fungicide.
Salix alba in pictures
Plant habit
Flowering
Foliage
Botanical data
Salix
alba
Salicaceae
White Willow, European Willow
Central Asia
Planting and care
The Salix alba is preferably planted in autumn, from September to November, in any fresh, possibly damp, rather heavy, rich soil, in a sunny position. Water and mulch the young plants. To limit growth, periodically and severely prune all branches to form a pollarded tree, a stump from which many shoots grow. A short pruning of this type during winter is often the best way to contain anthracnose attacks (black spots, cracks).
Planting period
Intended location
Care
Planting & care advice
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Hardiness is the lowest winter temperature a plant can endure without suffering serious damage or even dying. However, hardiness is affected by location (a sheltered area, such as a patio), protection (winter cover) and soil type (hardiness is improved by well-drained soil).
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In temperate climates, pruning of spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, spireas, etc.) should be done just after flowering.
Pruning of summer-flowering shrubs (Indian Lilac, Perovskia, etc.) can be done in winter or spring.
In cold regions as well as with frost-sensitive plants, avoid pruning too early when severe frosts may still occur.
The harvesting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions in USDA zone 8 (France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...) fruit and vegetable harvests are likely to be delayed by 3-4 weeks.
In warmer areas (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), harvesting will probably take place earlier, depending on weather conditions.
The sowing periods indicated on our website apply to countries and regions within USDA Zone 8 (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...), delay any outdoor sowing by 3-4 weeks, or sow under glass.
In warmer climes (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), bring outdoor sowing forward by a few weeks.
The planting period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a (East Coast and Midlands: Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Portlaoise). It will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the north-west (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal, Westport), delay planting by 1 to 2 weeks in spring and bring it forward by 1 to 2 weeks in autumn compared to the dates given, preferably choosing periods without strong winds.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (Wicklow Mountains, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Connemara, Killarney), it is best to plant in spring (April–May) or autumn (September–October), avoiding periods of waterlogged soil in winter and strong winds, which pose the main risk to newly planted trees in these areas.
The flowering period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a, such as the East Coast and Midlands, including Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Portlaoise.
This will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the northwest (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal and Westport), it will be delayed by one to two weeks compared to the given dates, due to stronger Atlantic winds and less spring sunshine.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (the Wicklow Mountains, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Connemara and Killarney), flowering will be delayed by two to three weeks. Flowering mainly occurs between May and July, with the limiting factors being less frost and more of the excessive humidity, strong winds and lack of sunshine that are characteristic of these areas.