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Salicaceae
Salix babylonica f. pekinensis 'Navajo'
Peking Willow
Despite a link between ‘Navajo’ and ancestors on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, the parent species is an exotic that just happens to love the American Southwest. It originates in China where it is closely related to the weeping willow, bearing most of its characteristics except the weeping form. This cultivar was named for a specific group of trees planted by the earliest colonials, possibly from Spain. It is an upright, fine-branching, deciduous tree with a globe-shaped canopy. The yellow-green branches bear soft, inconspicuous yellow-green catkins in spring. Just afterward, long,slender green leaves appear. These sometimes have waved edges and their undersides are waxy pale-green. In fall, they turn to pale yellow. This tree is easily grown from cuttings, the reason its cultivation is so widespread.
While globe willow and its entire clan are water lovers, an excess of moisture tends to weaken this tree. Over-watering in the ornamental landscape leads to a host of pests and diseases. Its perpetual shedding of twigs and leaves also gives it a bad reputation for litter, not to mention the results of its weak branching in regions of high desert winds. Formerly grown as a substitute for the messy cottonwood, the globe willow has dropped from the recommended list in many dry communities because of its tendency for diseases. But it remains a popular tree for rapid forestation of dry sites.
10 - 9
6 - 9
3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Tree
Full Sun, Partial Sun
40'-50' / 12.2m - 15.2m
20'-50' / 6.1m - 15.2m
Early Spring, Spring
Eastern Asia, China
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Average
Clay, Loam, Sand
Wet Site, Drought, Soil Compaction
Fast
Xeric/Desert, Drought Tolerant, Average Water
Oval/Rounded
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Insignificant
Yellow Green
Brown
Green, Light Green
Light Yellow, Yellow Green
Sandy Brown, Gray
No
Fine
Matte
Fissured
Shade Trees
Yes
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