Carried by 17 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Salix exigua (Sandbar Willow) is a deciduous shrub reaching 13 to 23 feet in height. The leaves are narrow, green, to grayish with silky white hairs when young. The flowers emerge as yellow or white catkins in late spring, after the leaves appear. The fruit is a cluster of capsules, each containing numerous minute seeds embedded in shiny white silk.
Like most willows, Sandbar Willow it is moisture-loving. It will tolerate a variety of soils and poor drainage. It grows in full sun and spreads by shoots to form dense colonies so it will eventually spread to occupy any wet soil that it can reach. Use with other wetland trees, shrubs and grasses.
It is host to a wide variety of pollinators, including butterflies, moths, and some gall-forming wasps. Some birds, such as the Least Bell's Vireo and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, prefer to nest in large, dense willow thickets.
Tree, Shrub
10 - 23 ft Tall
Upright
Moderate, Fast
Winter Deciduous
Yellow, White
Spring, Winter
Water features or wet habitats
Full Sun
High
Keep moist
Tolerates cold to -10° F
Slow, Standing
Tolerant of various soils as long as there is abundant moisture available.
Soil PH: 5.5 - 8.0
For propagating by seed: No treatment. Use fresh seeds (usually only viable a few days). Seeds should not be covered or pressed into a medium. Seedbed should be kept saturated for the first month. Easily propogated from cuttings.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11*, 12*, 13*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Streamsides, marshes, pond margins, drainage ditches, and other wet areas
Chaparral, Creosote Bush Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Sagebrush Scrub, Shadscale Scrub, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian
Use in constantly wet area with other wetland-riparian trees and shrubs such as Maples (Acer spp.), Alders (Alnus spp.), Dogwood (Cornus spp.), California Walnut (Juglans californica or hindsii), Sycamore (Platanus racemosa), Cottonwood (Populus spp.), Currant/Gooseberry (Ribes spp.), wild rose (Rosa spp.), and wild grape (Vitis californica or girdiana). Also works well with various wetland grasses and grass-like plants such as Sedges (Carex spp.), Spikerush (Eleocharis spp.), Rushes (Juncus spp.), and Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides)
Butterflies and moths supported
10 confirmed and 215 likely
Elegant Sheepmoth
Hemileuca eglanterina
Nevada Buckmoth
Hemileuca nevadensis
Ceanothus Silkmoth
Hyalophora euryalus