Grey willow
Salix cinerea
MediumSecondary
Fast biomass
A fast, thirsty wetland workhorse: coppice or pollard it hard for endless mulch and early bee forage. Keep it out of dry ground — and watch it, since it self-seeds readily near water.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- Medium
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Clay, Loam
- Soil pH range
- 5 – 7.5
- Min. temperature
- -30°C
- Min. rainfall
- 800 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- Medium
- Frost tolerance
- High
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Irrigation needed
- High
How to manage it
Fast wetland biomass and early bee-forage shrub; coppices and pollards hard for mulch and basketry.
Watch out for
Needs wet or moist ground and is no good on dry sites; can seed aggressively and turn weedy in wetlands and along waterways.
Design your line to see how your land fits Grey willow.
Start designing your line →Related species