Still In Love With These Strange Trees!

There are some things in nature that have always fascinated me. Even as a very young child, I was in love with Pussy Willow trees (and branches). I loved touching the catkins (those furry things that felt like cat fur) and calling them "pwetty" (one of my first words). Here I am a grandmother, and I'm still in love with these strange trees. What exactly are Pussy Willows?

Pussy Willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others):

* Goat willow or goat sallow (Salix caprea), a small tree native to northern Europe and northwest Asia.
* Grey willow or grey sallow (Salix cinerea), a small tree native to northern Europe
* American Pussy Willow (Salix discolor), native to northern North America. This, of course, is my favorite.

Before the male catkins - yes, there are male and female catkins - of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, grayish fur, leading to a fancied likeness to tiny cats, also known as "pussies". The catkins appear long before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring. At other times of year trees of most of these species are usually known by their ordinary names.

The odd thing about the catkins is that they are actually the flower on the branch! I'll bet you never looked at a Pussy Willow branch and thought, "Look at all those beautiful flowers!"

Pussy Willow branches are great for dried flower arrangements. They add that unique look that sets the arrangement apart from, say, a dozen roses.

In Europe, they are used in place of palms for Palm Sunday. And in Poland (or Buffalo, New York for Polish-Americans) they are used for Easter Monday observances.

And if you want to plant Pussy Willow branches, you can. It's very easy.

1. Take the cuttings from the new growth on male Pussy Willows.
2. Insert into the ground the end that you cut -- in other words, the bottom of the stem as it was growing in the wild.
3. Take a cutting that is about as thick as a pencil and at least one foot long. It needs to be long enough for a few inches to be underground (for stability), while a couple of nodes should still be showing above ground.
4. If you don't wish to wait until summer, bring your Pussy Willow cuttings inside and root them in water; then transplant outside when danger of frost is past.
5. Plant your cuttings far away from septic tank fields, sewer lines or water lines, as they have invasive roots.

One of my favorite paintings of Pussy Willows is Alan Pulley's "Eastern Bluebirds" which can be viewed on this blog, or on Alan's art page on his blog Birds 'N Such. He's a gifted artist.

So kids, listen up! Mother's Day is coming and I'd love to receive a Pussy Willow tree from my favorite place to shop! You can even get a FREE catalog, so no excuses! (Not leaving anything to chance here. :-)

(How many of my readers think I'll actually get a Pussy Willow Tree on Mother's Day?)

(c) 2009 Nature Girl

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20