Salix fargesii - Farges Willow

Salix fargesii or Farges' Willow is a Chinese species of small and highly decorative development, more bushy than shrubby, well suited for a small garden. It is interesting for its unusual appearance, as well as for its ease of cultivation in almost all types of soil. Its assets include magnificent, large dark, shiny green magnolia leaves, red young shoots from which large buds covered with silver bristles emerge, and smooth bark of a beautiful coppery brown, which will be admired in winter. Its upright green catkins are barely visible in spring. Resistant to the coldest temperatures, its young shoots can however be damaged by late frosts.

Belonging to the willow family, Salix fargesii is a deciduous botanical species native to mountainous areas in central and western China (Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan), where it is found at an altitude between 1400 and 1600 metres (4593 and 5249 feet). This plant was awarded in England in 2012 by the Royal Horticultural Society for its ornamental qualities and performance in the garden. It is a very light-tolerant species, less exclusively associated with wet places than most other species of the genus Salix.

Farges Willow is a rounded, branched shrub, developing many stems from its base. At maturity, this slow-growing willow will reach an average size of 2 metres (7 feet) in all directions, not exceeding 3 metres (10 feet) after many years. The young branches are erect, shiny, and bright red, turning mahogany red to copper red over time. From the end of winter, shiny, bright red buds form, releasing silky and silver leaves. Attached to the branches by red petioles, these leaves unfold, turning pink and then green, until they measure about 11cm (4in) long and 6cm (2in) wide. They have an elegant long oval shape, tapering to a point. Thick-textured and heavily veined, they are beautiful dark green and glossy on the top, lighter underneath. The foliage is deciduous, falling in autumn. The insignificant flowering is somewhat hidden by the foliage in April-May, on separate male and female subjects. The erect male catkins measure up to 12cm (5in) long, while the females, also erect, reach 18cm (7in) long. The fruit is a capsule that opens to release seeds with long bristles.

As charming along a watercourse as in a flowerbed, Farges Willow proves to be easy to grow in ordinary soil, in most regions. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not require moist or waterlogged soil throughout the year, and it will tolerate periods of summer drought with occasional watering. With a beautiful presence throughout the year, it can be placed in the centre of a small flowerbed composed of low shrubs (winter heathers, cotton lavenders, dwarf dogwoods Cornus sericea Kelseyi), or in front of a group of taller shrubs along a pathway. For example, it can be associated with Chinese azaleas and surrounded by Panicum or Miscanthus in a scene full of light.