# Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)

> Pussy willow, Salix discolor: a shrub of 6 to 30 feet for zones 2 to 8, how fast it grows, where it grows wild, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/pussy-willow/

![A pussy willow twig with two fuzzy silver-white catkins and small new leaves above reddish bud scales](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/pussy-willow-1000.jpg?v=01f68e37 "Pussy willow catkins opening with the first leaves in Kitchener, Ontario, on May 2, 2018. It flowers in early spring, from March to May, and its fruit ripens soon after.")
*Photo: Ryan Hodnett, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAmerican_Pussy_Willow_(Salix_discolor)_-_Kitchener%2C_Ontario.jpg))*

Shrub, 6 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 8; full sun or part shade; average or wet ground.

We do not grow pussy willow, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Pussy Willow |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Glaucous willow, American pussy willow, American glaucous willow, large pussy willow, true pussy willow |
| Form | Shrub |
| Height, feet | 6 to 30 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 15 |
| Zones | 2 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Showy flowers, wildlife value, honey tree, hedge or screen, winter interest, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Capsules, April to June |
| First crop | 5 to 10 years (as for willow seedlings in general; most seed at 8 to 25) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female plants. Pussy willow plants are male or female, and only females set seed, so a female needs a male nearby. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “willow” |
| Ground | Stream banks, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 27 states |

Pussy willow is native in 27 states: [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ND), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS) and [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), where it is naturalized, not native.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=pussy-willow): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=pussy-willow:5): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its height](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Squashberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/squashberry/index.html.md) (*Viburnum edule*): shrub, 2 to 7 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Red Osier Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-osier-dogwood/index.html.md) (*Cornus sericea*): shrub, 6 to 12 feet, zones 2 to 7. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Large Cranberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/large-cranberry/index.html.md) (*Vaccinium macrocarpon*): shrub, 1 to 2 feet, zones 2 to 7. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Winterberry Holly](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/winterberry/index.html.md) (*Ilex verticillata*): shrub, 6 to 12 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Seaside Alder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/seaside-alder/index.html.md) (*Alnus maritima*): shrub, 12 to 30 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Wild Black Currant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/wild-black-currant/index.html.md) (*Ribes americanum*): shrub, 3 to 6 feet, zones 3 to 7. Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Every companion of pussy willow in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pussy-willow)

## Read from

Its figures come from NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the University of Connecticut's plant database and Go Botany.