Salix caprea Ogon - Goat Willow

Salix caprea 'Ogon' is a variety of goat willow selected for its very beautiful spring foliage in yellow tones. A beautifully changing foliage, which attracts attention from spring to autumn. Its small development, beauty, and accommodating character regarding the soil also suit a beginner gardener with a modest-sized garden.

Salix caprea 'Ogon' is a horticultural selection. The species is commonly referred to as goat willow, willow of the goats, marsault, or grey osier. It belongs to the Salicaceae family. This is a deciduous tree native to Europe, especially central Europe, and to central and northern Asia. The goat willow is a pioneering and ubiquitous species, an essential plant less exclusively linked to wet places than most other species of the genus Salix.

The 'Ogon' willow generally forms a bush with a neat habit, but it can also be trained as a miniature tree with multiple trunks. Young subjects show rapid growth. Subsequently, growth slows down and the plant does not exceed 5 m in height. The older branches are olive green, quite thin and long, forming an airy, slightly irregular dome-shaped crown, with a spread of approximately 3 m. The young branches are reddish-brown and slightly hairy. Flowering occurs in late winter (March) or very early spring (early April), on the bare branches. The flowers are grouped in catkins, providing pollen and nectar to the first foraging insects. Just after flowering, young leaves that also decorative develop. They emerge pink, then take on a bright lemon-yellow hue. This yellow colouration lasts for 2 months. In summer, the foliage displays a bright light green colour. The leaves are smooth and soft to the touch. They are broadly elliptical, measuring 5 to 10 cm long, slightly wavy and somewhat wrinkled at the edge. In autumn, the foliage turns yellow again before falling.

Salix caprea 'Ogon' withstands very cold winters perfectly and is very easy to cultivate in most regions. Unlike most willows, it does not require moist or waterlogged soil throughout the year and is capable of withstanding moderate drought periods with good episodic watering. Prune it every year after flowering to encourage it to thicken and produce numerous floriferous branches. It should be placed as a specimen, surrounded by early flowering bulbs (snowdrops, spring crocus, fritillaries, hyacinths), in a free-standing hedge or at the back of a flowerbed with coppice shoots. It will be perfect in a naturally inspired garden with white dogwoods, for example. Consider composing bouquets with its branches adorned with silver catkins. In a vase, they beautifully accompany those of Prunus triloba, flowering cherries, and plums that the warmth of the house will open.

Properties:

Like all willows, this species contains a substance in its bark similar to aspirin. It is highly nectar-rich and honey-producing: the bees that forage on it produce honey of golden yellow colour, iridescent green, which takes on amber to beige reflections as it ages. Its flavour is sweet, floral and slightly woody. Its foliage was once used as fodder for goats.