Goat willow is a small tree, its shape more reminiscent of a shrub. Grown in garden and summer cottages for decorative purposes. There are several varieties of Goat Willow, which are described below.
Goat willow belongs to decorative varieties. The tree reaches 10 meters in height. The bark of an adult plant has a reddish tint, which is why the tree is also called the red vine. Young trees have greenish bark. This plant has other names, it is called goat willow, and bald willow, and willow.
The crown has a lush, graceful appearance. The leaves are round, pubescent on the underside. The tree blooms in April with large fluffy earrings, which have a yellowish-silver color. Men's earrings are oval in shape, while women's are cylindrical. In addition, women's earrings are smaller than men's. The plant belongs to the early flowering trees.
It is used for landscaping and for medicinal purposes; it is also used to weave baskets and furniture. Looks very impressive as a hedge on the standard. The tree grows quickly, after two to three years you can form a crown and use the plant to decorate the area. The most active growth occurs in the first years of life.
Breeders have developed several varieties, each of which has its own characteristics. To the most popular varieties include:
The variety is actively used in landscape design. The tree looks especially impressive during flowering.. During this period, many large catkins appear on the plant. The leaves of the tree are wide and oval in shape. This variety is characterized by high frost resistance.
Trees of this variety are more like bushes, their height is 10 meters. Distinctive feature this species has a lush spreading crown. In spring the tree blooms profusely.
Differs in short growth. It barely reaches three meters. Long branches hang down to the ground. Growing weeping willow very quickly, blooms profusely in spring, her earrings have a very pleasant honey scent.
Goat willow Pendula - deciduous tree. The crown shape is weeping, tent-shaped, 2-3 m wide, 2-3 m high. Average life expectancy is up to 30 years. The leaves are oblong-elliptical, dark green, 8-10 cm long. Yellow in autumn. The flowers are golden yellow, flat earrings. Blooms from April to May. Flowering lasts up to 15 days. The fruits are capsules. The tree is light-loving and shade-tolerant. Grows in any soil moisture.
Willow goat form Kilmarnock – miniature, standard tree up to 1.5 m high. B the branches are long, deeply drooping, stretching to the very ground. The crown shape is weeping, umbrella-shaped. Blooms in April. The flowers are silvery, numerous, yellow catkins, with a pleasant aroma.
All varieties are used for decorative purposes. They decorate gardens, parks, and summer cottages.
Is unpretentious plant easy to care for and does not require much attention. When planting, it is worth keeping in mind that this tree is moisture-loving and requires a special approach to watering. Young, newly planted plants must be watered and sprayed. Mature plant You can water it much less often, but you still need to irrigate it. It is better to spray early in the morning.
The tree is not demanding on the composition of the soil and can successfully grow even in poor soil unfavorable for growing crops.
And yet, muddy or sandy soil. The soil should be moist and well breathable. The ground around the tree needs to be loosened periodically. It does well in well-lit partial shade areas, but will not grow in very dark areas.
In spring and autumn, the plant is fed with complex fertilizers. IN autumn period superphosphate and potassium sulfur are used. Mulching with sawdust or peat will reduce the number of weeds near the tree.
Susceptible to powdery mildew. If the tree is sick, it will manifest itself as a white coating that will appear on the leaves. Damaged leaves must be removed to prevent the infection from spreading throughout the foliage.. Goat willow can be attacked by the flower fly. Insects should be controlled using insecticides.
Is medicinal plant. Its leaves, catkins and even bark are used in medicinal purposes. The leaves contain a lot useful substances, they contain:
Inflorescences help cope with various diseases. The therapeutic effect is aimed at:
Besides, medicines prepared from willow help eliminate sweat and urine. With the help of a decoction you can heal various diseases and ailments. The product helps in the treatment of whooping cough and typhus, it treats tuberculosis, gout and rheumatism. Bark baths help cope with fungal diseases. The bark is harvested in the spring before the flowering period. Decoctions from male earrings alleviate the patient's condition with tachycardia and arrhythmia. Willow honey is used to treat colds.
Medicinal decoctions are not indicated for everyone. If you have gastritis, it is not recommended to take medicine from willow.
Pregnant women and children should avoid such treatment.
People with poor blood clotting should also be careful. There are no contraindications for external use.
Goat willow is not only ornamental plant, it is used to treat many ailments. It is very easy to grow such a tree; this plant does not require much attention. That is why many gardeners choose this particular tree to decorate their plot.
- This is a tree or shrub that belongs to the Willow family. Another name for it is nonsense.
It grows throughout Europe, except for the tundra and alpine forests.
Prefers gravel pits, quarries, light forests, bushes, wastelands, forest edges, hillsides and places along water bodies and roads. Loves fertile, fresh and moist soils.
The plant is a small tree, 3 to 6 m tall, sometimes growing as a shrub. The root system of goat willow is very branched, so the plant thrives on rocky soils. It grows very quickly.
The advantage of the tree is that it looks beautiful at any time of the year. In spring, the shoots are covered with fluffy “seals”; from summer to autumn the crown is covered dense foliage And beautiful flowers, and in winter, shoots of unusual color contrast beautifully against the background of snow.
The young tree has a greenish-gray bark color, which becomes red-olive or red-brown with age. Depending on the variety, the leaves may be lanceolate or ovoid. They reach 13 cm in length and 8 cm in width. The leaves are dark green in color.
Did you know? The name "goat" willow was popularly given to the people for the special love of goats and sheep for the foliage and young shoots of the willow. At the same time, in Rostov region Russian Federation it is included in the local Red Book.
The shoots of the tree are flexible, twig-like, descending to the ground. If the tree is planted in an area with sufficient lighting, the plant forms a lush crown. It is this that represents the high decorative value of the plant.
In spring it is covered with fluffy “seals”. They represent a rod around which numerous flowers are arranged in a spiral. Due to the ripe anthers, male flowers have a golden halo. The pleasant aroma of flowers attracts many insects, so willow as a honey plant is a very valuable plant. As a rule, goat willow is frost-resistant, unpretentious to the soil, and light-loving. 
When choosing a planting site, keep in mind that the plant is very light-loving. In addition, it reacts very sensitively to strong drafts. The superficial root system is sensitive to moisture, so during planting it is necessary to lay a good layer of drainage. In order for the roots to grow faster, a fertile mixture, humus, and compost should be added to the planting hole.
Important! Goat willow propagates either by grafting or by seeds. Cuttings do not bring the expected result. In addition, the seeds lose their viability 10 days after ripening, so it is better to sow them immediately after collection. But it’s easier to buy a ready-made plant seedling from a nursery.
Willow is not at all picky about soil, but it has been noticed that the most lush specimens grow on fresh and light loams. Loves moist soils, but does well in dry sandy soils. The main thing is that there is no lime in the soil.
It is better to plan willow planting in spring or autumn. Then the plant will have optimal conditions to take root and grow root system.
The first time after planting, it must be constantly watered. In a week, you need to pour at least 25 liters of water under the tree. During dry periods, watering is carried out more and more often. From the second year of the plant’s life, you can water it once a week. 
Goat willow, in addition to special planting rules, also requires special care. It is important to regularly remove the shoots that constantly appear under the grafting site. If this is not done, the vaccine will die.
Caring for a tree involves periodically feeding it; from the beginning of the growing season until the start of the dormant period, no more than 2-3 feedings can be carried out. For this purpose, complex fertilizers are used, and in the fall - potassium sulfur or superphosphate.
In order for the formation of willow to proceed smoothly, it is necessary to weed the soil around the plant in time and retard the growth of weeds as much as possible. To do this, the soil around needs to be mulched: expanded clay, paper, sawdust, peat, pebbles. In addition, this will help retain moisture in the soil. If the soil dries out too much or cracks, it must be loosened after watering.
The tree requires regular pruning. As a rule, pruning of goat willow is carried out at a height of 30-60 cm.
The plant is considered winter-hardy and does not require shelter during the cold period, but in very coldy Young shoots, which should preferably be wrapped, may be damaged. It is imperative to cover the tree on the trunk. 
Not every variety of goat willow is suitable for growing on a trunk. The Pendula variety is considered ideal for this. The native tree trunk is used as a standard. With this type of cultivation, it is important to give it the desired shape in the first years of the tree’s life, otherwise the branches will quickly reach the ground and spread along it.
Important! Some gardeners try to propagate a tree by grafting onto a standard. But this procedure requires deep knowledge and rich experience. Even experienced gardeners Such a seedling does not always take root, so it is better to take it from a nursery.
Having planted a tree on their property, gardeners think about when to prune the goat willow. The first pruning is carried out already in the first year of the seedling’s life, cutting off young shoots from it. They should not exceed 15 cm in length. The remaining part must have at least one bud. Make sure that it is not turned inward of the crown, but to the side or up. This is the only way to achieve the desired shape of the plant crown.
Mature trees are also subject to pruning. It is carried out every year after flowering. Trimming goat willow on a trunk requires shortening such shoots by 2/3 of their length. Over the summer, the tree will send out new shoots, which will cause it to branch densely.
The tree is characterized by the rapid formation of a dense root system and, in principle, rapid growth. Therefore, it is often planted in parks, squares, on the turns of paths, on the shore of a reservoir, alpine slide. It can be planted either alone or in proximity to other plants. It is often used to form a hedge.
Goat willow in landscape design goes well with evergreen trees, dwarf conifers, ground covers, and perennials.
It is believed that the plant is resistant to most diseases, but sometimes some diseases appear on it. For example, it appears on the leaves white coating which indicates the plant is infected powdery mildew. Its causative agent is a specific fungus that attacks the leaves located at the bottom of the crown. Over time they turn yellow and fall off. The disease can only be combated with antifungal drugs.
Black spotting may also appear on the leaves, which is also caused by fungi. Fungicides will also help get rid of it. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to weed the ground under the tree more often and make sure that no water gets on the leaves when watering. 
Willow diseases are not the only problem that can arise when growing it. It is often attacked by pests, such as flower flies or willow leaf rollers. WITH flower fly You can fight it by watering the soil around the tree with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This will destroy the fly larvae that live there. If there are too many pests, insecticides must be used to control them.
If you properly care for the tree and protect it from diseases and pests, willow will delight you with its beautiful appearance for a long time - its life expectancy is on average 30 years.
Description
Kilmarnock goat willow (Salix caprea Kilmernock)- an ornamental tree with a small weeping crown and shoots hanging to the ground. The height depends on the level of grafting, most often it is 1.2-1.5 m. The leaves are dull green, covered with gray-white fibers. Yellow-golden catkins appear on last year's shoots before the leaves appear in March-April. Unpretentious shrub, but for vigorous development it requires a lot of water and light. Recommended for planting near water bodies.
| Crown diameter and height: | The height depends on the level of grafting, usually 1.2-1.5 m. |
| Flowering, foliage: | It blooms in March-April before the leaves appear; the flowers are collected in golden earrings. The leaves are large, elongated, dull green, covered with silvery hairs. Autumn color is yellow. |
| Soil requirement: | unpretentious to the soil, Various types are suitable - sandy, swampy, not very fertile. |
| Lighting requirements: | Most willows are light-loving and grow better in open areas, some (goat willow) are shade-tolerant and grow normally in partial shade. |
| Landing: | the distance between plants in groups is 0.6 -2 m. Planting depth is 40 - 70 cm, and the speed of growth should be taken into account. It is better to replant before three or four years. Drainage from sand or crushed stone with a layer of 20 - 30 cm is required on heavy clays. |
| Winter hardiness: | frost-resistant. In young plants, it is recommended to cover the grafting site for the winter. Zone 4 (see Climate zones). |
| Care requirements: | in hot weather, moisture-loving willows (eared willow, ashen willow, and brittle willow), if they do not grow near water bodies, are recommended to be watered and sprayed. White willow is drought-resistant, tolerates dry soils, and tolerates spring flooding. Young plantings are loosened in the spring to the depth of a spade, and then mulched with a layer of peat (5-7 cm). Dead branches are cut off, a crown and a trunk are formed. Remove very long shoots on the lower part of the trunk. |
Beneficial features:
* White willow bark has antipyretic (due to the content of acetylsalicylic acid), astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, anthelmintic and diuretic effects. In fact, willow bark contains a wonderful substance - salicin. On its basis, salicylic acid was synthesized, and later it began to be produced on an industrial scale under the name aspirin.
* Tea from fresh leaves relieves fatigue; using a willow broom in a bathhouse treats osteochondrosis and gout. The quinine it contains is a powerful tool against malaria.
* Positive results have also been achieved in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and diarrhea. Willow is also used externally: for rinsing the mouth, throat, douching, for varicose veins, sweating feet, and skin diseases. The plant is used as a sedative, anti-fever and wound-healing agent, and a weak decoction of the bark treats weakened and brittle hair, saturating it with all the necessary substances.
* Her ability to absorb heavy metals allowed her to cleanse polluted fields. It was experimentally established that willow is one of the best plants trapping dust. An adult plant grown in an unformed form retains up to 38 kg of dust over the summer.
Goat willow, otherwise botanists call it Bredina (Selix carrea), and in common people it is simply Rakita, a plant belonging to the Willow family. Europe is considered its homeland, but it grows successfully in Western Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The average life expectancy is 150 years. During this time, the height of the plant can reach 10 m and 0.75 m in trunk diameter.
Many gardeners wonder whether goat willow is a tree or a shrub? Everyone calls it differently, but general classification it is a deciduous tree, sometimes a tree-like shrub. Based on the name, we can conclude that sheep and goats like to feast on the plant.
The plant loves light, however, it has shade-tolerant qualities. Favorite growing areas: fertile, rich, sandy or gravelly soils. At the same time, they should not be very wet - this can destroy the tree. As a conclusion, watering should be moderate. Broom is found along roads, houses, in forest clearings, and clearings. Formed seedlings are used for planting. If you need to propagate, then cuttings, seeds or a grafting method are suitable for this.
The characteristic features of the plant are:
Goat willow in (photo can be seen below) is very common. And all thanks to its beauty and shape. Moreover appearance The growth of a plant depends greatly on the soil in which it grows and the light level.
Most often, broom is planted when landscaping private houses and estates. At first glance, the willow seems unprepossessing, but thanks to its weeping forms, grafted onto the trunk, it acquires a very attractive appearance.
Willow also looks great in rocky gardens, as well as on the edge of ponds. It is worth appreciating another advantage of the plant - the ability to hold the soil together with its roots, so it is not surprising that it is often planted on slopes.
Most often, gardeners pay attention to willow varieties such as “Silberglanz”, which has a height of up to 8 m and a spreading crown, “Pendula”, the main advantage of which is a weeping crown and standard form, and “Mas”, which has a wide-spreading crown and reaches a height of up to 10 m.
This is a deciduous tree, reaching a height and length of up to 2-3 m. As a rule, it lives no more than 30 years on soils of any moisture content. The variety is shade-tolerant and light-loving. For normal growth, abundant watering is required. But to avoid overflowing, a fairly high drainage layer should be laid. The plant is frost-resistant, but it is recommended to cover the trunk for the winter.
The advantage of the plant, we repeat, is the tent-shaped weeping crown. Looks great goat willow on the standard. Of the many varieties, pendula can be identified by its dark green oblong-elliptical foliage up to 8-10 cm long. In autumn, the color turns yellow.
In April-May, flowering begins (lasting 15 days) with the release of flat golden-yellow catkins. Subsequently, the fruit is formed in the form of a box.
In landscape design, pendula is planted as a single tree or in decorative groups. Looks great in rock gardens and up close. Pairs well with dwarf trees coniferous varieties, young plants, moisture-loving plants and ground covers. As for reproduction, the procedure is performed by grafting onto a standard.
The most difficult to care for is pruning the goat willow variety Pendula. If the crown is not formed correctly during the first year, the branches will fall to the ground and decorative value will be lost.
In young animals, all branches are pruned, leaving a length of only 15 cm. In this case, a bud should remain, looking to the side or upward. But not inside the crown. This haircut achieves a shape similar to an open umbrella.
If the plant is mature, then pruning is carried out after flowering, shortening the branches by 2/3 of the entire length. This achieves dense branching of the crown.
This variety is distinguished by its miniature size (maximum 1.5 m in height). The tree is standard and resembles an open umbrella with branches reaching to the ground. The plant is frost- and wind-resistant, light-loving. It has no soil requirements and grows well on low-calcareous, loamy soils. The only drawback is sensitivity to moisture, so you need to be careful with watering.
The variety can be identified by its foliage. It is green, oblong-elliptical in shape, slightly wrinkled, turning yellow in autumn.
In April, flowering begins with the release of numerous catkins with silvery and fragrant flowers.
Planting is carried out with the onset of spring. The cuttings are placed in water in advance and wait until the roots appear. They should then be transplanted into open ground, after digging a shallow hole. The extracted soil is mixed with compost, and after planting the cuttings are poured into the hole and the soil is pressed down a little. Afterwards, water the plant well. Subsequently, watering is performed 2-3 times/week. For adult specimens, regular watering is not necessary. If in summer there is dry and hot weather, seedlings should be watered more often.
As for feeding, in the spring-autumn period it is carried out twice using complex means. In autumn, give preference to potassium sulfur or superphosphate. In the presence of large quantity weeds around the tree, mulch sawdust, peat, expanded clay, paper, crushed pebbles.
If the soil near the goat willow dries out quickly, loosening should be carried out, and if cracks appear, the soil should be watered first and then loosened.
Don’t forget about timely and regular tree trimming.
Proper planting, watering control, and willow pruning will help you form beautiful plant that will bring grace to landscape design your house.
Planting/care: It is better to buy Kilmarnock goat willow seedlings grown in Ukraine with a large lump in burlap, so the plant is guaranteed to take root after planting. All plants purchased from the PROXIMA nursery are provided with long-acting fertilizers with the latest formulas from the best European manufacturers and can be sold in your garden center without additional feeding for a whole year. But greatest advantage The advantage of buying potted plants is that they can be planted, without purchasing additional fertilizers, from March to December - even on the hottest days of summer.
Kilmarnock willow requires minimal pruning. Remove any broken, diseased or unwanted branches in late fall or winter. Also requires regular removal lawn grass With trunk circle, mulching with a thickness of at least 7 cm. Feed with granulated complex fertilizer long acting in early spring. We fertilize as usual with balanced NPK + Me in the spring - nitrogen, in the summer - phosphorus, August - September - potassium. Do not forget about improving the soil structure with organic matter (humus, compost), and regular foliar treatments with mineral and organic fertilizers with adhesive.
Pests and diseases: Kilmarnock goat willow is pest and disease resistant. An untreated plant can be affected by powdery mildew, green leafworm, fruit cap moth, necrosis of branches and trunks. To protect the plant from diseases and fungal infections, it is necessary to treat the plants with fungicides (Skor, Switch, Maxim, Ordan, Horus, Quadris, Radomil Gold, etc.). Of course, it is better to have a specialist make the “diagnosis”. But, as a rule, a modern gardener, using the Internet, can independently identify the enemy and choose the right methods and means of protecting the plant. To protect the tree from the pest, preventive spraying with insecticides (Aktara, Enzhio, Aktellik) is carried out in the spring. Compared to the voracious larva of the May beetle, other pests are rare on a well-groomed plant. Over the past 10 years, Khrushchev, especially on humus-rich, weed-free soils, has become the most dangerous pest garden plants Ukraine. One beetle larva can gnaw the root system of a young 10-30 cm seedling in 1 day, completely destroying it. From mid-April, when we see the first flying beetle, we URGENTLY treat the crown with any of the numerous preparations based on imidacloprid, for example Prestige (Bayer), Antikhrushch, while part of the solution must get onto the trunk (10 cm above the ground) and the root collar and not spill to the side . We repeat similar treatments every 40-50 days of the growing season. We pour it into the soil according to the instructions, Aktara is also effective (active ingredient - 240 g/l thiamethoxam; 250 g/kg thiamethoxam). Treatment along the crown and topping up the root collar into the soil from late April to September once every 40-60 days.
Buygoat willow KilmarnockKyiv by low prices available at the PROXIMA plant nursery.
