Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Salix purpurea 'Pendula'
  • RHS AGM

weeping purple willow

'Pendula' is a small deciduous tree, usually grafted as a standard at 2-3m, forming a broad, pendulous crown of slender arching purple shoots with narrow leaves, glaucous beneath and slender catkins, to 2.5cm, opening with the leaves

Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
2.5–4 metres
Time to ultimate height
10–20 years
Ultimate spread
1.5–2.5 metres
Growing conditions
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Poorly–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green Blue Green
Summer Blue Green
Autumn
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

South–facing or East–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H6
Botanical details
Family
Salicaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Pendulous weeping
Genus

Salix are deciduous shrubs and trees of diverse habit, with simple leaves and tiny flowers in catkins, male and female usually on separate plants. Some are valued for their brightly coloured winter shoots, others for their foliage or showy male catkins

Name status

Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in any deep moist well-drained soil in full sun. Dislikes shallow chalk soils

Propagation

Propagate by softwood or hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Coastal
  • Low Maintenance
  • Hedging and screens
Pruning

Pruning group 1

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, caterpillars, leaf beetles, sawflies, willow scale

Diseases

May be susceptible to willow anthracnose, scab, canker, honey fungus and rust

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.