When I was little we had a pussy willow bush in the back yard, which I thought was a cool plant. Those fuzzy white buds got my attention in the late winter and early summer. When I finally bought my first home with Alan, I suggested that we plant one. In just a few years, it got rather big so I didn’t even consider taking it with me when we moved. When we got to our current home, I looked every where for a pussy willow plant without success.  A college friend of mine, Philip surprised me and gave me a pussy willow plant that he grew by taking a cutting from his plant. While he used rooting hormone to get it to grow, I hear you can easily root a new growth cutting by placing it in water. Curious minds want to know if this will really work – I think I will have to try it this Summer.
Now my plant caught gall! This does not affect the growth of the bush and the catkins but causes the leaves to look like they came down with the measles or pimples! I will have to take a close up picture of the leaves this summer so you can see what I mean. Now I don’t like to use anything strong in the garden but this was driving me crazy! I found that if I put Bonide Guard & Grow granules at the base a few times during the summer starting when the green leaves first come out, it seems to keep the pimples under control. Don’t forget this plant likes lots of water and like most bushes it can be pruned regularly in the summer.
Now lets get back to the beautiful blooms on this plant which are the fuzzy white buds called catkins. At the end of last summer, I let the top branches grow really tall. I think it irritated my husband but I had a vision – watch out! I wanted long stems of the buds to bring inside the house for a floral arrangement. It worked. I will show you soon the new floral arrangements that I am making . ANTICIPATION. . .
