Salix discolor USDA Select - This fine selection of the American Pussy Willow made by the USDA exhibits several excellent traits. It displays a greater number of showy female silver-gray catkins. The early flowers, usually in March here (late February in a milder winter), are loaded with nectar making it a fine inclusion for those who keep and / or love bees. Deep red new stems darken to near black in winter. Bud sheaths are so dark to be also nearly black. Blade-shaped leaves are white-backed, slightly woolly with glossy, dark green tops. Great also for wildlife reclamation this is a native plant that should be considered by all native plant enthusiasts and definitely by bee keepers. Also, as with many pussy willows, cut branches can be forced indoors if that is your bent. Fertile, moist to even swampy soils set in plenty of sun will keep Salix discolor USDA Select content. Established pot grown shrub from cutting. Annual coppicing will generate a plethora of stems laden with even more catkins. For those interested in quantity for wildlife reclamation projects please contact us with a request for your needs and we'll see what we can do. Found naturally in a loose line from North Carolina up through Montana (plus Mississippi) north into nearly all Canadian Provinces including the Northwest Territory but not Nunavut, Yukon or points farther north.-

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