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littletree willow

Salix arbusculoides · Salicaceae

littletree willow (Salix arbusculoides)
Photo: no rights reserved · CC0 · via iNaturalist

littletree willow (Salix arbusculoides) is a perennial shrub in the Salicaceae family. It is native to North America.

At a glance

Typeshrub Derived
Lifecycleperennial USDA
Native statusnative USDA
Mature height10 ft USDA
Lightfull-sun USDA
Growth ratemoderate USDA
Soil pH5.5–7.5 USDA
BloomMay–June USDA
Flower colorYellow USDA
Guild layershrub 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 needs full sun. Its drought tolerance is rated none — it needs reliable moisture. It handles periodically wet ground (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance medium). It is recorded on soils from pH 5.5 to 7.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground.

Size and growth

At maturity it reaches about 10 ft, making it a plant that will finish above head height. It grows at a moderate rate.

Bloom period

USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are yellow.

A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.

Foliage, flower and season

Summer foliage is green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. USDA rates its lifespan as short, so plan on replacing or resowing it rather than treating it as permanent structure.

What the site needs to provide

It needs at least 120 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 12 inches.

Propagating it

Cuttings is the only propagation method USDA lists. Its seed spreads at a rapid rate.

Resilience and wildlife

Browsing animals find it highly palatable, so expect deer and rabbits to take an interest. Its fire tolerance is rated medium. Its growth form is recorded as thicket forming.

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.

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Tags

deciduouswet-tolerantnativefull-sun

Related plants

Others in Salix

Where this data comes from

Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol SAAR3, 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.

Read our full data sources and methodology.

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