Mystery photo uncurled!

There were a few brave souls who ventured to ID the mystery plant – a trunk shot is not particularly helpful, I know.  But I was hoping that its contorted nature might help a little.  (It wouldn’t have helped me at all, but you all know by now that I am NOT a taxonomist.)

So our mystery tree is a curly willow (Salix matsudana):

…which may or may not be synonymous with Salix babylonica.

In any case, it’s an interesting tree that’s relatively cold hardy.  Like many willows, it has weak wood and is prone to breakage.  But in the right location (away from targets) it could be a lovely specimen.

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Linda Chalker-Scott

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. Linda also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting The Informed Gardener (2008) and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again (2010) from the University of Washington Press and Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do from Timber Press (2015). Her latest effort is an update of Art Kruckeberg’s Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest from UW Press (2019). In 2018 Linda was featured in a video series – The Science of Gardening – produced by The Great Courses. She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Linda’s contribution to gardeners was recognized in 2017 by the Association for Garden Communicators as the first recipient of their Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award. "The Garden Professors" Facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheGardenProfessors "The Garden Professors" Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors Books: http://www.sustainablelandscapesandgardens.com

One thought on “Mystery photo uncurled!”

  1. I had a curly willow once. As you said, the wood was brittle and weak, but I’m trying again with a Scarlet Curls willow (I’m a sucker for winter color). The plan is to coppice it, so it never gets big enough to pose a danger.

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