Grey Willow (Salix cinerea) bare root tree saplings

Leaves and bright yellow catkins of Salix cinerea (Grey willow)

Willow - Grey (Salix cinerea)

£0.99

10% off Orders over £1000+VAT

15% off Orders over £2000+VAT

Minimum order value (all plants) is £300+VAT

Free Delivery over £300+VAT excl Highlands and Islands

Please order plants in multiples of 25

Grey willow (Salix cinerea) is

- Suitable as a woodland tree or woodland shrub

- Native

- Deciduous

- Good in wet areas

- Safe to plant near livestock (non-toxic)

Buy with confidence - read our customer reviews.

The specifications shown below are our normal range but we often have additional options. If there is something that you are looking for, it's often worth contacting us.

Please contact us if you would prefer to order on the phone or have any questions or to discuss a discount for larger quantities.

Our range of Grey Willow (Salix cinerea) bare root plants

We have Salix cinerea bare root plants in several specifications and heights. The 1+0 specification plants are seedlings (often called whips) which were grown from seed sown in the spring and are sold during the following November to April months ie they are 1 year old. We normally have Salix cinerea whips in several heights.

Grey Willow (Salix cineria) Summary

Very similar to goat willow but with smaller leaves that are at least twice as long as they are wide, and is found less often away from damp areas. There are other subtle differences – the bark is slightly darker and the bark ridges are not as deep. For a wet site the two are pretty much interchangeable though and very similar in appearance at first glance with large grey catkins in early spring turning yellow as they ripen.

See our full range of Willow species.

Soil and Situation

Grey willows like moist or wet acid or neutral soil and grow best in full sun thought they will grow in partial shade. They tolerate high winds other than at the coast.

Leaves, flowers and fruit

The leaves are dark greyish green, oblong to ovate, hairy beneath. The male catkins are silky grey turning yellow and the female cakins are grey/green. Willows catkins are amongst the earliest sources of nectar and pollen. There are rare bees that are dependent on Salix cinerea perhaps because of the quality of the pollen. These trees produce huge quantities of pollen, it is thought because they are wind pollinated so they need a lot of pollen to increase the chance of it reaching the flower of another tree.

Eventual height and growth rate

The eventual height of grey willow is about 5m (with a spread of about 5m as well unless you keep it trimmed) and the growth rate is fast. Willows are sometimes coppiced or pollarded and regrow quickly.

Also known as pussy willow, grey sallow and common sallow and is from the Salicaceae family.

Free Delivery

For deliveries of orders over £300 + VAT, (which is our minimum order value) we have free delivery to all mainland areas nationwide. If you are in the Scottish Highlands or any of the Islands, please email us or call us and we will quote you a delivery charge which we will subsidise.

All orders are despatched on pallets and will be delivered to the kerbside. We will email you to tell you when your order has been despatched and that email will contain a link so that you can track your delivery.

You can request a specific delivery date when you place your order and we will do our very best to accommodate that date but cannot be held responsible if we do not meet it.

Collections from Ross-on-Wye

You can collect your plants by arrangement with our office team. Please ring us on 01989 552028 to agree a collection date. The postcode for collections is HR9 7TF.

As a trade nursery, we normally despatch stock unbagged (packed horizontally on pallets) but we can offer two bagging options.

Bagging Options

We have two options for despatching plants in bags (you do not need to have them bagged but it is advisable if there is any delay in planting and where you have large quantities, delay in planting some is inevitable).

- Very heavy duty black bags - normally used by farmers, landowners, landscapers etc

- Co-extruded bags which are white on the outside, to reflect sunlight, and black inside, to retain moisture on the roots - normally used by foresters.

In both cases, there is a considerable labour cost to us in putting stock into bags, and then the air in the bags takes up a considerable amount of space on the pallet which means that we get many fewer plants onto a pallet compared with unbagged stock eg for 1+0 seedlings instead of approx. 10,000 plants per pallet of unbagged stock, we'd only get approx. 5,000 plants per pallet if they are bagged. There's also a significant labour cost in putting plants into bags compared with loose packing on a pallet (which is the normal method for nursery to nursery sales). Given that we pay the delivery cost on most orders, supplying stock in bags is a significant extra cost for us for some customers and hence we make a modest charge.

You can specifically request black or white bags on the website after you add plants to your shopping basket. Here is a link to the page Bagging Service for bare root plants for farms and forestry – rjtreesandhedging. Please order the same quantity as the number of plants you are buying - the pricing for bagging is per plant rather than per bag.