Salix ‘Golden Curls’ (Willow)

Fast-growing, Salix ‘Golden Curls’ (Willow) is a large shrub or small tree of great ornamental value. Although the trunk and older branches are upright, forming an oval rounded crown, the younger branches weep gracefully downward, curling and twisting. Golden-yellow in winter and early spring, they mature to bronze-gold in summer. In spring, they get clothed in glossy green, lance-shaped leaves which curl and twist, forming pretty gold and green tresses. The foliage turns brilliant golden-yellow in the fall, before falling to the ground, revealing the sculptural silhouette of the plant in the winter. This willow is a cross of the corkscrew willow Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’ and the golden weeping willow Salix alba ‘Tristis’. A most useful willow for sunny sites and moist soils with outstanding ornamental value throughout the year.

• Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• Grows up to 20-30 ft. tall and wide (6-9 m). May be cut to the ground every 3-5 years to keep a smaller shrub size.
• Performs best in full sun in moist, well-drained soils.
• Easy to grow and easy to care for, this willow is deer-resistant. Keep an eye out for aphids, caterpillars, gall mites, sawfly larvae, willow scale, willow anthracnose, scab, willow heart rot, rust diseases, crown gall, honey fungus and root rot.
• Propagate by softwood cuttings in early summer or hardwood cuttings in winter.
• Cut back hard in winter to encourage the brightly colored new growth.