Salix chaenomeloides....what can I say? i've always liked this plant

I used to have hope that it would someday enter the florist industry as a cut stem for winter. The red buds are over a half inch long. When the catkins expand they are quite impressive, frequently two or more inches long. Easily grown, it doesn't seem to be invasive, and you can coppice it for profit. Still, no one seems to have run with it.

This plant is growing beside the Anacostia River.I posted it last winter but had to fight my way through vines to get to the plant. We had a cleanup project this summer and three people sweated and bled for several hours to free this plant; Amanda, and I think Jeanette, but I don't remember the third person. I'm sorry I forgot, but grateful they did the dirty work. We (read mostly Nathan) have been staying on top of the area with a bit of weeding, a bit of spraying, and a bit of mowing. At least for the short term things look good.