Pussy Willows Facts & how to propagate them

One of the earliest signs of spring is when you can see the grayish fur “pussies” that are the buds of the catkins of the American pussy willow. They are found growing in swampy areas.  Sometimes these delights to the eyes can be seen even when there is still some snow covering Mother Earth. There are many benefits environmentally that the pussy willows provide. The flowers provide much needed pollen for native bees very early in the season, and their access is readily seen because they bloom on bare stems before their leaves appear. Finches, grouse and cardinals love to eat the flower buds. Several different butterflies use the blue-green leaves as food when they are in their larval stage. When they grow in dense clumps, this multi-stemmed, thick shrub provides necessary cover and nesting sites for a variety of birds.

The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project of Prince Edward Island, Canada notes the importance of pussy willows for feeding wild birds and other wildlife. They state that willow buds are second only to the buds of poplars as the preferred food of ruffed grouse. Muskrat, red squirrel, beaver, and snowshoe hares all include willow in their diets. Deer eat the branches of pussy willows. The leaves of the pussy willow are rich in health providing Vitamin C and zinc. Pussy willows are an important nesting site for American goldfinch. The cover and protection willow thickets provide is probably of equal importance to wildlife as is the value of its food.

This year, to see them in their fur covered stage, was sort of hit and miss because this spring we had few warm days and plenty of frosty cold ones. I found some pussy willow buds that had already begun to fatten up and produce yellow pollen and some that were in the early stages, which is when you would want to collect them for use in vases and displays around the house. Do not put them in water if you want them to stay as furry pussy toes. If you look for them now you may still find some. You should look in areas that are protected from the warm sun like stream edges with a lot of overgrowth of other trees. I found out it may be a good idea to wear tight fitting boots! My left sneaker is still stuck in the muck somewhere on North Road. I took a long step to what I thought was a dry area, but it definitely was NOT dry.

Pussy willow trees are native to the wetlands of Canada and the eastern U.S. The terminology “pussy willows” is used to refer both to the trees themselves and to the furry buds on its branches (also known as “catkins”). The pussy willow is a deciduous shrub that can reach a height of up to twenty feet. Pussy willows are dioecious, which means it is a plant whose male and female reproductive organs are carried on separate individual plants of the same species. When a plant species is dioecious, at least one male plant must be present in a group for the fruit-bearing female plants to be pollinated.  There are male pussy willow trees and female pussy willow trees. The buds, or catkins, on the male pussy willow trees are different from those on the females trees. The male catkins are showier. It is the branches of the male trees that we seek for their “pussy willows.” The catkins of males yield numerous tiny staminate flowers later in spring. Staminate means they bear stamens. While they are called trees, technically they are deciduous shrubs.

It is possible to take cuttings and root them. They are trees of the wetlands, so if you have any areas that suffer from poor drainage, planting pussy willows in those areas is an excellent idea. They can be constrained to look like shrubs through proper pruning. Since pussy willows love moisture and thrive along banks of streams they are useful for controlling soil erosion. They also form excellent privacy screens or borders. There are directions on how to prune them on the Internet. Just Google “How to prune pussy willows”, and you will be provided with plenty of information.  If you do not have a wet area and you plant some, remember they must get plenty of water. They do best in full sun, but will tolerate some shade.

According to one Website, propagating pussy willow trees is an easy thing to do. They root so easily that cut branches can simply be inserted into moist soil in the summer. Roots will develop within a few weeks. A few planting tips for pussy willow trees to remember: Take the cuttings from the new growth on male pussy willows, not the older, gray-colored branches. The end that you want to insert into the ground is the end that you cut. The cutting you take should be 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 to provide stability, while a couple of nodes should be showing above ground. Nodes are the place where leaves, buds or other branches grow out from on the branch. I would be afraid I would not know what the pussy willow tree would look like without its furry pussies. Therefore, I will add the following instructions I also found.

Other sources I researched on the Internet gave these instructions. According to many of the sites you can get pussy willows to multiply by a few easy steps. They feel pussy willows root so easily you can cut stems of almost any size as long as they are at least a foot long and simply stick them into moist soil in the SPRING - not the SUMMER as was mentioned above. It is said that they will take hold within a few weeks. The articles like others said they feel the cuttings need to be from the year’s new growth, the thickness of pencils, and there should be at least two buds above the ground when you insert the cuttings in the direction that they grew (cut side down). NOTE: If this is something you want to try, be sure to plant them as far from septic tanks, sewer lines, or water lines as possible because pussy willows like other willows have invasive roots.  Other sites on the Internet suggest the new growth branches you cut in the spring can also be rooted in water and then planted in the summer. I think I will experiment and try all of the ways.

Here are a few interesting pussy willow trivia facts: (1) In Asia and Europe the pussy willows there, that are a similar species to ours, are called goat willows or goat sallows. (2) The shoots of pussy willow are used both in Europe and America for spring religious decoration on Palm Sunday, if needed, as a replacement for palm branches, which do not grow in the north. (3) In The Sound of Music, when Maria asks Marta what one of her favorite things are, she replies “pussy willow.” (4) In an episode of Roseanne, Roseanne reminded her sister Jackie of a time in their childhood when she made Jackie shove a pussy willow up her nose, and she had to go to the emergency room to have it removed. (5) In 1968, the musician Gordon Lightfoot released a song called “Pussy Willows, Cat-Tails.” (6) In 1982, the rock band Jethro Tull released a song called “Pussy Willow”. The song depicted a young woman who lived in a fantasy world shattered by the typewriter sounds of her dead-end job. The pussy willow was a tree outside of the young woman’s home. I would like to end with this cute poem & a craft idea for kids:

“THE WILLOW CATS”

by Margaret Widdemer

They call them pussy-willows,

But there’s no cat to see

Except the little furry toes

That stick out on the tree:

I think that very long ago,

When I was just born new,

There must have been whole pussy-cats

Where just the toes stick through----

And every Spring it worries me,

I cannot ever find

Those willow-cats that ran away

And left their toes behind!

For the craft, you will need - Non-toxic - brown, white & black paint - a tray - paper - paint brushes, fingers, and some eager young artists (Some paper towels for cleanup, too). If the children are very young, paint the branches (two of them) on a paper that is at least 8”X10” for them (you can also do just one and photocopy the rest). Older children can paint the branches themselves. After the branches are dry, mix a tiny bit of black paint into the white paint in a tray so it just coats the bottom of the tray. The children then dip a finger into the paint and dab it onto the sides of their branches creating beautiful pussy willow bud paintings! It would be a great gift to give to their Istas, Totas, and Aunties on Mother’s Day.