Salix candida aka Sage Willow

Salix candida is a shrub in the willow family, Salicaceae. People call it sage willow or American hoary-leaved willow. It grows wild in subarctic America and the northern United States. Kew groups it with plants from temperate climates. It is not native to Great Britain or Ireland. It belongs to the genus Salix. The RHS accepts Salix candida as the correct name.

Sage willow has a round shape, not a tree-like form. The Chicago Botanic Garden lists it as a landscape shrub. Its shape suits sites that need a round, woody plant. The garden suggests using it for screens and hedges. It also suggests growing it as a specimen plant. This gives the shrub a place of its own. A hedge or screen puts it in a group. The supplied species records give no full-grown height or width. They thus do not show how much space it needs.

The Chicago Botanic Garden lists blooms from May through June. This means late spring and early summer in that record. The dates come from the garden's plant facts page. Use those months as a guide tied to that source. The supplied species account gives no flower colour or fruit details. It gives no details of bark, stems, or leaves, either. The RHS page describes these parts for the willow genus. Those broad facts do not show this species' exact traits.

For growing this shrub, the Chicago record lists full sun. It also lists part shade and calls for moist soil. A sunny site suits it, but some shade is fine. Think about soil moisture when you choose its garden site. The account does not call for dry soil or standing water. It gives a USDA hardiness range of zones 4 through 8. This gives a broad guide to where gardeners may grow it. The page gives no separate UK hardiness rating.

The Chicago page is an archive; the garden no longer updates it. Its species facts support using this round shrub in landscapes with moist soil. They do not show its growth rate or when to prune. The supplied evidence gives no pest or disease account for this species. It does not show edible uses or establish safety for people and pets.