shortfruit willow
Salix brachycarpa · Salicaceae
shortfruit willow (Salix brachycarpa) is a perennial shrub in the Salicaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 4 and warmer, down to about -21°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 3.6 ft USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.8–8 USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 4 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
Its drought tolerance is rated low. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.8 to 8 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 4.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 3.6 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height.
Foliage, flower and season
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
USDA records it across sites receiving 14 to 90 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 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.
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
Similar role and hardiness
- whitethorn ceanothus Ceanothus cordulatus
- yellow rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus
- coastal sweetpepperbush Clethra alnifolia
- quince Cydonia oblonga
- slender pride of Rochester Deutzia gracilis
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol SABR, 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: cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, flower conspicuous, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Toxicity, Type.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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