I once "had" a liking to willow shrubs but it quickly faded. Invasive root system, extremely fast growing (more maintenance), no real good ornamental feautre and quick to die...yet they are tought to kill, go figure.

I have a few Dappled and Dwarf Arctics...the Dapplied does have a nice lighting effect in a darker area. Once those tap out, I'll be putting a nicer variegated shrub in there like Wolf Eyes Dogwood.

willow is not favorable to growing hosta near them.. based on the roots

ken

I also like willows and use several in a low lying area in my garden. Currently I grow salix daphanoides (violet willow, salix vitellina (golden willow)and salix lasiolepis (arroyo willow). I cut back the golden willow every other year to keep it shrublike and to keep it producing colorful orange yellow stems. Since the violet and arroyo willows are shrubs I just prune them to maintain a good shape. A good source for many different types of willows is Bluestem Nursery http://www.bluestem.ca/

Based on the poster's name, I'd think they are trying to get rid of the hosta...see you later!

Violet willow is a tree in my area. A male clone, perhaps 'Aglaia' is seen on some local properties (but not at garden centers) and is quite nice. Otherwise the most impressive ones are the colored stems forms such as those belonging to S. alba vitellina. The best, most red one I have come across was donated as small potted plants to a rummage sale. I got them for free at the end of the sale, the selection has proved to be more red than others I have seen or grown - perhaps it is even the true 'Britzensis' from Germany.

The main ones in commerce here are golden weeping willow (spectacular but huge), French pink pussy willow (a compact conical tree and sweetly fragrant in flower, but with catkins having an unpleasant ashen appearance plus some pink which gives me an impression of dirty animal pelts, with skin or blood showing), Kilmarnock willow (male catkins (pussies) studding a small weeping pile of branches), and the weeping and "dwarf" forms of blue Arctic willow. These are small-growing and clean-looking, but their catkins aren't much.

Dappled willow has also been prevalent in recent years. Its requirements can be a bit awkward as being a willow it wants full sun, but like other variegated forms the palest portions are vulnerable to burning and turning brown or black in full light.

Reversion to typical green foliage also sometimes occurs, many variegated cultivars of garden plants are not completely stable and this one appears to not be an exception.

are also frequently offered. The old green 'Tortuosa' is boring in comparison to the newer Golden Curls and Scarlet Curls. I grow the latter as a sprouting stump, sawing it back nearly every spring.

Golden Curls and Scarlet Curls make great small trees if you don't cut the back periodically. They are far superior as branches for arranging, if you want more irregular bends and twists, rather than the relatively boring spiral that a corkskrew willow produces.

The latest blooming pussywillow I have is Salix schraderiana, after every other, with small glossy green leaves with powder blue undersides. Quite ornamental and the foliage is great in arrangements too. I assume you are talking about the Black pussywillow, as opposed to the native black willow. Melanostachys is one of my favorites, although it does suffer through my northern winters. Largest catkinned pussywillows: Salix chaenomeloides. Smallest: Salix koriyangi 'Rubykins'. Both very nice. Salix babylonica 'Annularis' ('Crispa') or Rams horn willow has unbeatable curled leaves for interest, but no showy catkins.

Fall blooming pussywillows have not done well for me, and our native one is not an ornamental sort.