PLANT of the week

Salix gracilistyla Mount Aso

This Japanese pink pussy willow is a lovely new variety of Salix with soft pretty pink catkins in late winter and early spring. It was selected for breeding by a cut-flower specialist in Japan who spotted its decorative potential for indoor flower vases.

They can be used as fresh flowering stems or dried for flower arrangements.

Make sure you coppice every other year in spring to stimulate fresh stems.

Salix isn’t a fussy shrub but it has a preference for sunshine and moist soil. It will make a beautiful specimen for your winter garden and children will be beguiled too.