If you love spring, you need a Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) in your landscape. You’ll love it for those cute, velvety willow catkins that grow on every branch before the leaves emerge. If you’ve ever held a cat’s paw and felt the cushy pads on their paws, you’ll understand how this ornamental shrub got its name.

The Pussy Willow season starts before some plants even think about breaking winter dormancy. You won’t be able to resist touching the soft pads or cutting a few branches to bring indoors. They’re long-lasting when cut and are such a beautiful and unique way to appreciate spring so early in the season.

But did you know that this adaptable shrub can also deliver huge benefits in your landscape? Pussy Willows usually grow as multi-stemmed shrubs or small trees. They are native to North America and are easy to grow.

Many birds and other animals love Pussy Willows as a valuable food source, as well as excellent cover. Pussy Willows make great screening plants with dark green leaves that are silvery beneath. They’ll give you a wonderfully peaceful sense of serene privacy all season long.

Willows love water and can handle poorly drained wet soil. Use them in a Rain Garden or place them in areas that can flood. At the same time, these plants are quite tolerant of drier, well-drained soils as well. We told you they were easy!

Don’t deny yourself one of these very popular native plants. You’ll forever associate early spring with its fun, fuzzy buds. Order today!

How to Use Pussy Willow in the Landscape

You’ll be out there in your garden harvesting branches of Pussy Willows long before anything else in the garden wakes up. What a magnificent treat for yourself!

Start harvesting the branches in late winter or very early spring. Simply cut an armload and bring them indoors. Then, place them in water and watch those soft and fuzzy buds get larger and longer until the branch is completely covered with soft, light gray fuzzy buds.

This is known as “forcing” the branches, and it’s a great way to help chase away those winter blues.

Next, you’ll want to dry the branches and use them all year long in dried cut floral arrangements.

Once the furry catkins get large enough, just take them out of the water and drain out your vase. You’ll pop the branches back into the dry vase and let them dry. Use several vases to avoid overcrowding. Nothing could be easier!

These can be grown as a cash crop and the branches prepped and sold to local markets. Or, make cute little “posies” with the earliest spring blooms and deliver to family, friends and neighbors. Give yourself and others the gift of spring with this wonderful shrub.

We would also recommend that you use your dried branches in your outdoor containers to create an early spring look. Add Pansies, Daffodils, and Grape Hyacinth and bask in the glory of spring.

Grow Pussy Willows as a hedge along your property line or use as a single specimen in a spring garden.

#ProPlantTips for Care

You can choose many ways to grow this plant. Let them grow to their full height if you need fast privacy. Or, keep them smaller with pruning.

The whole reason for growing Pussy Willows is to cut the stems – so each year get out early and check the progress of the fuzzy buds. As soon as they are the size you like, cut to your heart’s desire. By cutting branches you will be pruning your plants keeping them much smaller and more vigorous. New wood produces larger fuzzy buds than the ones from older wood.

Pussy Willows come in both female and male plants. Both male and female catkins are beautifully showy.

The Willow family of plants love water, so they will grow to where the water is. Site 50 feet away from septic tanks and sewer lines. They can tolerate both full sun and partial sun.

You’ll be so glad you gave yourself the gift of a Pussy Willow. Order yours today!