Salix x fragilis var. bullata - Crack Willow

Salix fragilis var. bullata is an old cultivar of brittle willow discovered in the wild in Sweden in the eighteenth century. It distinguishes itself from the species by a spherical crown and slow growth. It is selected to form a small tree with a single and straight trunk and an elliptical crown. Its branches are brittle and its dark green lanceolate foliage is shiny. It grows in non-calcareous soil, even poor soil, and tolerates wet to marshy soils. It is ideal for landscaping around large bodies of water.

Native to the plains of Europe and present in parts of Asia, Salix fragilis, also known as crack willow or red willow, is a fast-growing tree reaching between 10 and 20 metres in height and 8 to 10 metres in spread. It belongs to the Salicaceae family and the Salix genus, which includes no less than 300 species distributed in the cold regions of the northern hemisphere. Its habit is generally spreading, with the tree developing a single trunk, or even multiple trunks, topped by a wide crown supported by a few large scaffold branches. The bark is dark greyish-brown, fissured on old specimens. The long, flexible, and brittle branches are hairy when very young. They bear deciduous, lanceolate, 9 to 15 cm long, narrow leaves, not exceeding 4 cm in width. The upper surface of the leaf is shiny and dark green, the lower surface pale green. Flowering occurs in April-May, at the same time as the young leaves appear. The male and female catkins measure between 4 and 6 cm. The seeds, coated in a kind of cotton, fly away in spring and immediately germinate upon contact with moist soil. Its powerful root system, both taproot and spreading, is perfectly adapted to deep and unstable soils.

Salix fragilis var. bullata forms a slow-growing small tree with a single trunk and an elliptical crown that will reach 4 to 6 metres in height. Over time, it will measure between 5 to 9 metres in spread.

The 'Bullata' brittle willow can be planted as a specimen or along the edge of a body of water in large gardens. Among the plants that will accompany it near the water, you will find horsetails, reeds, loosestrifes, daylilies, Scirpus, and Typha angustifolia for example.

Tip: Collect fallen leaves in autumn and burn them if the tree shows black spots (anthracnose) or yellow-orange spots (rust) during its growth. Once all the leaves have fallen, treat with Bordeaux mixture.