sweet & soft pussy willows

The ground may be covered with snow, but now is the time to cherish one of the harbingers of spring: Salix discolor or Pussy Willows. The sweet soft little catkins are irresistible against little fingers and cheeks. These cuttings I picked off a huge bush near a wetland field, are starting to root in the vase. They will go out into the ground in a sunny location on our property once the danger of frost has passed.

I also learned recently that Pussy willows are dioecious. Meaning there are male pussy willow trees and female pussy willow trees. The buds, or catkins, on the male pussy willow trees look different from those on the females. The male catkins are showier, and it is the branches of the male trees that we seek for their catkins. The catkins of males yield numerous tiny staminate (stamen with pollen) flowers later in spring. I must have picked these branches from a male tree, as they are starting to produce pollen in the vase.