Salix myrtillacea Seeds | Myrtle Willow
LATIN NAME: Salix myrtillacea
COMMON NAME: Myrtle Willow
Plant Profile
Salix myrtillacea, better known as Myrtle Willow, is a shrub. It grows slowly into prostrate, rooting form, and it stands cold, windswept ground well. It likes sun, and moist, gritty, well-drained soil. Gardeners value it precisely for this blend of qualities.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Salix myrtillacea, a representative of the Salix group with clear practical value. Work looks at way low stems root along gravel, tiny leaf build, and seed biology. The practical point for growers is that this plant has been observed in gardens for so long that its behaviour holds few surprises.
Uses & Benefits
Myrtle Willow brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Along cold streams, myrtle willow mats gravel with dense, rooting stems. Low canopy shelters spring meltwater seeps, catkins feed early flies, and plant makes fine rock-garden, erosion mat and alpine trough plant. It thrives in moist, gritty, sunny ground. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Willow bark is the mother of aspirin: its salicin, refined through salicylic acid, became acetylsalicylic acid, and willow-bark extract remains an official European herbal for pain and fever. The genus also gives basketry, cricket bats and erosion control.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed of Myrtle Willow under ordinary good conditions. Broadcast the seed thinly over a fine, free-draining compost, sieve a little more compost on top, and water with a fine rose. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Myrtle Willow settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Myrtle Willow is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. It tolerates the sort of small mistakes every beginner makes.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Myrtle Willow: