Common Name: creeping willow
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Salicaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: April to May
Bloom Description: Silver maturing to yellowish
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Clay Soil, Wet Soil, Black Walnut
Culture
Best grown in medium to wet soils in full sun to light shade. Tolerates poorly drained clay soils. Thrives in consistently moist soils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Salix repens, commonly called creeping willow, is a low-growing (repent) deciduous shrub that typically grows to 2' tall and spreads by creeping procumbent stems to 6' wide. It is native to Europe and Asia. Narrow-oval leaves (to 1.5" long) are gray-green above and whitish-green beneath. Silvery catkins maturing to yellow appear in spring just before or as the leaves emerge. Species plants are dioecious (separate male and female plants).
Genus name is the Latin name for this plant.
Specific epithet means creeping.
'Iona' is a dwarf cultivar that typically grows to only 4-6" tall but spreads to 18" wide. 'Iona' is a male clone.
Problems
Willows are generally susceptible to a number of disease problems including cankers, blights, galls, leaf spots, powdery mildew and rust. Potential insect pests generally include borers, caterpillars and scale.