Willow flowering: what you should know about tree and kittens

They are soft, fluffy and decorative: catkins decorate the branches of the willow tree in spring. Find out what you need to know about the flowering of the tree in this article.

Willow flower: popular with humans and bees

Who does not know her? The fluffy gray kittens hanging from the willow branches before the leaves shoot.

• As a rule, these are the velvety inflorescences of goat willow (Salix caprea), gray willow (Salix cinerea) or ripe willow (Salix daphnoides).
• Each willow tree bears only male or only female flowers. After flowering, you can recognize the male kittens by yellow stamens. The female kittens are discreetly green in color.
• The willow catkins are popular not only with humans, but also with bees and other insects. The animal literally flies on the blossomed catkins. Your nectar is an important food source for bees and Co.
• The bees fly first to the yellow, male kittens. Only after they have saturated themselves on the nectar there, with the male pollen in their luggage, do they continue to the female kittens. Pollination is thus ensured.
• In most German federal states, it is therefore not permitted to cut off kitten branches for the vase in the wild. You should rather buy the so-called decorative twigs in the flower shop.

An overview of the willow tree

• Willow species: There are 30 to 40 species of willow in Europe. The weeping willow with its long, hanging branches is one of the best known and most beautiful in Germany.
• Characteristics: The willow appears as a shrub or as a tree up to 20 meters high.
• Location: Weiden prefer moist locations. Therefore, the trees or shrubs are mainly found on rivers, banks or in floodplain forests. In the Alps there are pastures on rock debris and stony grass.

The pasture and the hay fever

In spring it blooms everywhere and trees and shrubs send their pollen into the air. Classic allergenic trees are birch or hazelnut. But what does the pasture look like?

• Willows have a low level of allergy.
• They rarely trigger allergies because they are insect-flowered. That means: only a few pollen fly in the air. However, locally there can be higher amounts of pollen. Attention: Willow branches in the interior can cause hay fever.
• Willows bloom from early February to late June. However, the main season is from mid-March to early May.
• Cross-reactions within the different types of willow and with poplar pollen are also possible.
• The willow is also used pharmaceutically: preparations made from willow bark help with mild, febrile colds, pain and inflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system. But: The pharmaceutical products may only be used in adults and not in children.

How to plant a weeping willow can be read in another practical tip.