goat willow
Salix caprea
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones4 to 8
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles moderate to moist soil
Size12 to 25 feet tall12 to 15 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Erect
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Pinkish gray (male); green (female)
- Foliage color
- Gray/silver, green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Goat willow (Salix caprea) is a shrub for hedges, pollinator gardens, and cut flowers. It is hardy to USDA zone 4, or down to -30°F (-34°C). This plant likes full or part sun and average to moist, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. It grows fast and reaches 12 to 25 feet tall, and bees and butterflies visit its flowers. Deer rarely make it their first choice. You can cut stems for indoor displays.
Pairs well with Amur maple, Columbine, Grape hyacinth, and Heather.
Native range
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, and 9 more places. See all 13
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Asia, Altay, Corse, Krym, Manchuria, NW. Balkan Pen., Primorye, Sicilia, Türkiye, and Yakutiya.