All Salixes have shallow, invasive roots, so it might not be a good idea to plant it very close to your lined pond area - for the health of the tree as well as the pond. If you figure the tree is going to get 12-15 ft. wide, then you would know that the roots will extend at least that far out from the trunk (to the drip line) of the tree. Any water-loving plant will have shallow roots, because they don't have to go too far to get the water they need. Brenda

You could have received what is known as Rubykins Pussywillow a really nice addition to the gardens in my point of view. Mine has grown to about 12 feet and seems to be staying there. Because of that and the fact that is is shaped as such, I consider it a small tree. There is no way to change the colour of the 'cats', and yes, those hairy things are seeds. It likes moist soil, but I have some thriving in regular soil. Mine are in sun for most of the day, yet our climate is probably cooler than yours in summer as we live along the Atlantic. Here's a picture of Rubykins in summer. Please keep in mind that this photo was taken from the top of my rock wall gardens which would be about 4 feet up. In essence, I am not level with the willow. Oh, another thing. Hummingbirds love this tree. They seem to play in it, trying to catch each other but what they are really doing is eating very tiny flying bugs that we can barely see.

The Northern Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana var. virginiana) tree is native to my region of New Jersey. However, I have never seen this tree in natural occurance at all - it must be rare for my region, and only listed for the sake of a few rare discoveries. It is a known host of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Do you think that Eastern Tiger Swallowtails will be drawn to the two Sweetbay Magnolia trees that I planted, once mature and large. Will the scent likely trigger an attractive response? I think that scent/chemical signal may be more important to butterflies and moths, more then sight and memory. Yet, the local Tiger Swallowtails may not be genetically related to populations that have speciated in association with Sweetbays. I hope so - the scent of the flowers is extremely strong. Steve

It's early yet! It's supposed to flower in April, and that's a generalization - could happen in May, in NH. It seems possible that the poorer flowering last year was because that was its first spring after being planted out. If it really doesn't flower this year, then I'd suspect lack of light. It's supposed to be tolerant of part shade, but most plants with that sort of description really prefer more light. Of course, if this is a grafted plant, it could be a bad sign that the graft is failing, but there would be more signs, like non-weeping stems growing from the base. (S. caprea is sometimes grafted onto non-weeping roots to produce a standard that weeps from some height, instead of the shrubbier form that is its natural pattern; or so I've read.) I think it may be too early to say whether that's what's going on.