Willow is considered a symbol of spring, the birth of life in nature. In addition, Orthodox Orthodox holidays are associated with it - Palm Sunday and Easter. Willow flowers begin to form in early spring, even before the green leaves begin to bloom.
Description
Willow is also called willow holly. This deciduous tree is 10-12 meters long. Shrub up to 6 m high is less common. This plant has thin, rod-shaped flexible branches. Young shoots of willow can be reddish-brown in color with a bluish bloom. Also, young shoots can be bright yellow. In this case, shoots are found without plaque. The crowns of these plants are spreading, with a diameter of up to 4 meters. Willow leaves are narrow and long. Their length reaches 8-12 cm, and the width is 3 cm. The top of the leaf is pointed, for which the willow got its unusual name. The edge of the leaf is serrate.
Willow is the first plant to bloom in Russia in April. In the spring you can see whole groves of trees and shrubs with grayish-white fluffy lumps on the branches. How beautiful the places where willow grows at this time! In the Rostov region, a case of willow flowering in a 13-degree frost in December was recorded. But this is rather an isolated case. Perhaps it was warm weather, or in the place where the roots of the tree are located, warm waters pass. But, of course, willow flowering in winter is nonsense.
After some time, fluffy lumps are covered with greenish-yellow flowers. They have a very pleasant smell. In addition, willow is a wonderful honey plant. During flowering, the thickets where the willow grows are simply teeming with bees. Seeds of this species ripen in May-June. They are equipped with fluffs and carried by the wind over fairly large distances. Willow grows very quickly, annual growth in height is 50 cm. The life span of a tree is about 30 years.
Plots of willow
In the Russian climatic conditions, willow feels great. Many species of this tree are a kind of pioneers, as they are the first to populate abandoned or empty plots of land. The main places where willows grow are moist areas with acidic soil. Most species love moisture and enjoy settling in moist places. In dry lands on the slopes, sands, a very small number of these trees grow. You can meet a willow in the forest, next door to other trees.
Willow grows to the size of groves, which occupy large areas. When the branches touch the ground or water, these plants quickly take root. Willow roots not only develop well, they give rise to numerous branches. Sometimes this quality is used to strengthen the relief of loose soils and sands.
Features of willow
In addition to the above properties, namely the ability to give subordinate roots, willow can easily propagate by cuttings and stakes. It was noticed that the plots, especially long abandoned, fenced at one time with a fence from willow trunks, became the place where the willow grows. In the Moscow region in the villages a lot of such willow groves appeared. Therefore, if you make a fence from a willow, then soon you will notice green shoots on the posts. In addition, this type of plant has some positive characteristics in comparison with others, these are:
- High winter hardiness.
- Pickiness in the selection of soils.
- The ability to tolerate air pollution and various diseases.
Due to the latter property of willow, the plant is recommended for use in green urban areas. Accordingly, where the willow grows, it is not only beautiful, but the air in this place will be cleaner.
Types of Willows
Willow is a tree-like plant of the willow family. In some regions of Russia , the word "talnik" is used to name the willow. So basically called the shrub species of willow and its thickets. A closer look at the places where willows grow, you can see that outwardly these plants can significantly differ from each other. There are tall trees and shrubs among them, which are sometimes quite small - stunted or creeping on the ground. In the polar countries, in the mountains, in the highlands, you can find small dwarf willows and very small shrubs, reaching only a few centimeters in height.
In total, the willow family has about 370 species. Basically, most areas where willows grow are cool areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Only a few species of this beautiful plant grows in the tropics. There are about 65 of them in North America , of which only 25 species are trees. They reach a height of 15 meters, but among some species there are giants. They are up to 40 m high, and the trunk diameter of this species can be up to half a meter.
Places where shrubs willows grow:
- In the east of the European part of Russia.
- In Siberia.
- In Central Asia.
In Russia and in the western regions of the European part, the pussy-willow is called a rakita, vetla, and hook. Basically, these are quite large trees and shrubs.