Tag Archives: gardening

Great Willow Bark!

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There is a magical place that comes alive every winter, not far from Portland.  And, fortunately for any local sightseers it is conveniently located right off of I-5, just southeast of Ridgefield Exit 14.  It’s hard to build mystery and anticipation for your reader when your creative subject line is so telling, but yes, I’m talking about a stand of willow trees.  Not your idea of exciting?  Maybe it takes a certain kind of person to get excited about willows, but this beautiful bark just amazes me, and I’m sure all can appreciate it:

Salix lasiandra bark

Pacific Willow (Salix lasiandra, syn. Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra)

Look how much this tree stands out against the drab backdrop of alders:

Salix lasiandra, syn. Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra

Pacific Willow, disguising as a smokeless flame

As best as I can tell (without being able to examine one up-close, being on private property), these are Pacific Willows (Salix lasiandra), or a type of one.  The bright, yellow-orange stems really helped aid in identification, or supposition, to be accurate.  Since there are around 400 species from the genus Salix, (200+ in cultivation, not counting cultivars), it’s hard to know if you’ve narrowed down that list enough for a definitive answer when trying to identify one, especially since they are cross-fertile plants, often creating hybrids.  I like what OSU’s site has to say about willows:

“As a group, willows are easy to identify – in fact, pussy willows are one of the first trees that many of us learn.  But distinguishing between different types of willows, is a different story.  The reason is that there are so many willows – North America has approximately 90 different types – and that many of the species interbreed, with the offspring having characteristics of both parents.  As a result, most people are satisfied knowing that a tree is a willow, and leave it at that.”

Even with all that family competition, these willow trees really stand out from most others that I’ve seen.  Just imagine this below stand of willows planted with large drifts of our native Red-twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea, syn. Cornus stolonifera), shown here in a previous post.  Red-twig, or Red Osier, Dogwoods share very similar cultural requirements (loving themselves a riparian area) and would not only provide striking bark contrast, but they would also work great proportionately as a foreground plant to these willows, only coming up to about half of their height.

Stand of Salix lasiandra

Willow woods

In general, willows are rather susceptible to pests and diseases, and branch breakage can also be a relatively common occurrence (however, they also re-sprout and re-root easily), but they also come with many benefits which I believe easily outweigh the negatives if you have a large, moist to wet, natural area for them.  Native, riparian willows like these can help provide soil/waterway stabilization with their extensive, fibrous root systems, improve shoreline and aquatic habitat by offering food, shelter and shade (the shade helps reduce temperatures in nearby waterways improving the conditions for many fish), improve water quality, grow quickly to establish a natural screen, and lend a relatively fine texture and movement to a landscape.  Also, the early spring flowers not only add interest to the garden, but are also a great early nectar source for our bees.

I wish we had the room for a few of these willows in our yard, but 6,000 square feet is not going to cut it.  Better add a larger yard to the Christmas list…

Northwest Native Plant Spotlight – Vine Maple

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Acer circinatum fall color

Vine Maple fall color in full sun

Acer circinatum; it may be a somewhat ubiquitous plant here in the Pacific Northwest but this versatile plant is popular for good reason.  Commonly known as the Vine Maple, it derives its name from its wild, sprawling growth habit when in shaded conditions, and the sinuous, multiple stems it often has.  Some of the most desirable features of this small tree (approximately 15 to 20 feet tall and wide) are its multiple trunks, and its long-lasting parade of colors in the fall, which range from red to yellow and sometimes includes purple.

Vine Maple Flowers

Vine Maple Flowers (Photo credit: wolfnowl)

In early spring Vine Maples sport tiny groups of red and white flowers which develop into attractive red-winged seedpods, or samara, by mid to late spring.  Vine Maples also add some interest to the winter landscape with their unique skeletons and reddish coloring found on the younger branches.

Vine Maples exhibit rather different personalities dependent on the amount of sunlight they receive (boy, can I relate to that).  In more sun, the growth habit will be more upright and dense, and fall color will be stronger, displaying more red and orange hues.  In a shady location growth can be wide, open and sprawling, sometimes even having stems that arch back to the ground which can sprout new growth and roots, creating thickets.  Fall color will be more yellow in this environment, or not noteworthy at all if in deep shade.  I like their traits best in a site that receives just a little afternoon shade, so the leaves have less of a chance of burning, the growth habit is still largely upright and so they still display good fall color.

Acer circinatum fall color in part shade

Vine Maple fall color in part shade, at St. James Church in Vancouver

Thicket of Acer circinatum

Mossy mess of Vine Maples in full shade, creating a thicket

Another thing I really love about vine maples is that you can prune them in many different ways to fill just about any spot in your garden, and they are adaptable, strong growers.  For a taller and more upright habit, completely remove some of the lowest side branches, cutting them off near the trunk, just above the collar; this will also help expose the beautiful base of multiple trunks.  You can also do some cutback pruning on the outer part of the side branches.  This method is recommended if you have one sited close to a structure.  Or you can cut back at the top of the tree which will promote more lateral growth.  Vine Maples can also even be coppiced successfully.

Acer circinatum pruned

I’m not sure what I think about this, but this shows the flexibility you have when designing with Vine Maples. These two trees are in a fair amount of shade, being under an overhang on the north side of a building. It appears they have received pruning from the bottom up, to highlight the multiple trunks, and also regular cutback pruning on top to restrict height and create a low, wide canopy.

When so much in the natural northwest landscape turns yellow this time of year, if any strong color at all, it’s nice to see a plant that’s not afraid to do its own thing.  Enjoy the show while you still can, those remaining tenacious leaves can’t hold much longer.