Salix lasiolepis (Arroyo Willow)

Salix lasiolepis (Arroyo Willow) is an upright, multi-stemmed, large shrub or small deciduous tree with a broadly spreading, irregular to rounded crown. The dark green leaves are broadly lance-shaped, 6 in. long (15 cm), smooth or occasionally toothed along the margins, and whitish below. They flutter in the breeze, creating a rippling, bicolored effect. Arroyo Willow is dioecious with separate male and female plants. Fuzzy catkins appear with or before the leaves in late winter to late spring. The pollen-releasing male catkins are yellow, while the seed-producing catkins are green. Seeds are tiny and embedded in a mass of tangled hairs that lift and carry the seeds away on the air currents. Fast-growing and cold-hardy Arroyo Willow can be used as a specimen, in group planting, near bodies of water, as an informal hedge, or as a deciduous screen. Its suckering habit aids in erosion control and makes it useful for stabilizing streambanks and improving wildlife habitat. The catkins are a source of pollen for beneficial insects, and the catkins and buds are food for small game and songbirds in spring. Arroyo willow is a host plant for the Lorquin’s admiral, mourning cloak, and western tiger swallowtail butterflies.

• Grows up to 10-35 ft. tall (3-11 m) and 10-25 ft. wide (3-8 m). Adds 36 in. per year (90 cm).
• Performs best in full sun to part shade in moist to wet soils. Tolerant of most soil types and drainage classes where moisture is not limiting. Can withstand prolonged soil saturation and flooding.
• Great for hedges and screens, wildlife gardens, or along streams or ponds.
• Watch for aphids, scales, willow leaf gall sawfly, and poplar borers.
• Native to Western and Southwestern United States.