Salix caprea Kilmarnock - Great Sallow

Salix caprea Kilmarnok is an old variety of Scottish goat willow, grafted at the top, which is distinguished by its beautiful weeping habit and its modest stature. It develops a crown of long trailing branches that reach the ground, forming a well-regulated parasol. In late winter, its bare and shiny branches are adorned with decorative, silvery catkins with a velvety texture, turning yellow. It is compact and perfectly suited to small gardens, but also to a container on the terrace. Original and elegant, this small deciduous tree derived from the robust goat willow is also hardy and very easy to grow in any soil, even relatively dry in summer. Its branches covered with silky catkins are superb in bouquets.

Salix caprea belongs to the willow family. It is a deciduous botanical species native to mainly Central Europe and Central and Northern Asia. The goat willow is a pioneering and ubiquitous species, a light-loving tree less exclusively associated with wet places than most other species of the genus Salix. 

The cultivar Kilmarnok, sometimes referred to as Pendula, is a male willow grafted on a stem, marketed since 1853 from a Scottish nursery. It has a characteristic habit, somewhat upright, composed of a vertical trunk topped with a regular and trailing crown. At maturity, this small, fast-growing willow will not exceed 3 m (10ft) in height by 2 m (7ft) in width. The trunk is covered with a smooth grey-green bark, which takes on a grey-ashen colour and a cracked and fissured texture with age. The young branches are hairy, then become brown-yellowish with a glossy finish. The deciduous foliage consists of thick, leathery leaves, dark green and shiny on the upper side, whitish and downy on the underside, turning yellow in autumn before falling. Broadly elliptical in shape, they measure 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) long by 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 2in) wide. The spectacular flowering takes place in February-March, before the leaves appear, on 1-year-old branches. 'Kilmarnock' only produces male catkins which are extremely decorative, pleasantly scented and nectar-bearing. These egg-shaped to oblong catkins, 3 to 7 cm (1 to 3in) long, initially covered with silky white-silver hairs, release very small, decorative yellow flowers, covered with pollen.

As delightful in a neat bed as in a large container on the terrace, the Kilmarnock willow is perfectly resistant to severe frosts and proves to be very easy to grow in ordinary soil, in all regions. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not require moist or waterlogged soil throughout the year and can withstand periods of moderate drought with occasional watering. Prune it every year after flowering to encourage it to branch out and produce numerous flowering branches. Place it in the centre of a bed of low shrubs (cotton lavenders, catmints, mondo grass, or Japanese sedge according to the soil) or alone, surrounded by early-flowering bulbs (snowdrops, crocuses, fritillaries, hyacinths). Remember to create bouquets with its branches adorned with silvery catkins. In a vase, they beautifully complement those of the Prunus triloba, flowering cherry and plum trees that will open in the warmth of the house.

Properties:

Like all willows, this variety contains a substance similar to aspirin in its bark. It is highly nectar-bearing and honey-bearing: bees that collect nectar from it produce a golden yellow honey, iridescent with green, which takes on amber to beige hues as it ages. Its flavour is sweet, floral and slightly woody. Its foliage was once used as fodder for goats.