grayleaf willow
Salix glauca · Salicaceae
grayleaf willow (Salix glauca) is a perennial shrub in the Salicaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 9 and warmer, down to about 24°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub Derived |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 4 ft USDA |
| Growth rate | rapid USDA |
| Soil pH | 5.5–8 USDA |
| Bloom | June USDA |
| Flower color | Yellow USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 9 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 5.5 to 8 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 9.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 4 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height. It grows quickly.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of June. Flowers are yellow.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is dark green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. USDA rates its lifespan as long.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 8 to 33 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 89 frost-free days to finish its season.
Propagating it
Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its fire tolerance is rated high, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Salix
- feltleaf willow Salix alaxensis
- white willow Salix alba
- peachleaf willow Salix amygdaloides
- littletree willow Salix arbusculoides
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol SAGL, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, fall conspicuous, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, resprout ability, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer, Type.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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