Tri Color Dappled Willow for Sale
Tri Color Dappled Willow is the shrub people stop the car for — new growth comes out shrimp pink, hardens to white and green, and the whole plant reads as a splash of colour from across the yard. We stock it both ways: as the multi-stem shrub most people picture, and grafted onto a standard as a small tree. Shipped from Newton, NH to New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
- $37shrub, 12–18 in
- $69tree form, 4–5 ft
- 6 ftspacing on centre
- 6–9 ftmature height
- 5–7 ftmature width
- Zone 4ahardy across New England
Shrub form or tree form?
This is the question almost nobody answers properly online, and it changes what you end up with in the yard. It is the same plant — Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki' — presented two completely different ways.
| Shrub form | Tree form (standard) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Multi-stem, branches from the ground | Grafted onto a clear trunk, rounded head on top |
| Shape | Upright, bushy, fills a space | Lollipop — a defined head at a fixed height |
| Best for | Hedges, screens, mass plantings, filling a wet corner | Specimen by a door, either side of a path, container |
| Price | $37 (12–18 in) | $69 (4–5 ft) or $93 (42 in standard) |
| Available now | 30 singles, plus 4/10/20 packs | 22 at $69, 25 at $93 |
If you want a run of colour along a fence or a wet back corner filled in, buy the shrub. If you want one plant doing a job by itself, buy the standard.
Price
| Pack | Price | Per plant | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $37.00 | $37.00 | — |
| 4 pack | $140.60 | $35.15 | ~24 ft |
| 10 pack | $333.00 | $33.30 | ~60 ft |
| 20 pack | $629.00 | $31.45 | ~120 ft |
All shrub-form pricing is the 12–18 in grade, which is the size we have in depth. The larger 18–24 in and 24–30 in grades are sold out for the season.
How many do you need
Dappled willow reaches about 7 ft across, so it plants on 6 ft centres for a screen. That is much wider than an arborvitae — it takes far fewer plants to cover the same run.
| Run length | Plants | Buy as | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 ft | 5 | 4 pack + 1 | $177.60 |
| 50 ft | 9 | 10 pack | $333.00 |
| 75 ft | 13 | 10 pack + 4 pack | $473.60 |
| 100 ft | 17 | 20 pack | $629.00 |
At 100 ft the 20 pack costs exactly the same as the seventeen singles you need — $629 either way — and leaves you three spares. Always take the pack.
Two things to know before you buy. Dappled willow is not evergreen — it drops its leaves and spends the winter as a bare framework of slim coral-red stems. And it is not deer resistant. Both of those are asked constantly and answered vaguely elsewhere, so we would rather say it up front.
Plant facts
| Botanical name | Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki' |
|---|---|
| Also sold as | Tricolor willow, Nishiki willow, Japanese dappled willow |
| Mature height | 6–9 ft |
| Mature width | 5–7 ft |
| Spacing | 6 ft on centre |
| Hardiness zones | 4a–8a |
| Sun | Full sun — the pink is weak in shade |
| Moisture | Average to wet; one of the best shrubs for a soggy spot |
| Growth rate | Fast |
| Growth habit | Upright, bushy, multi-stem |
| Evergreen | No — deciduous |
| Deer resistant | No |
| Native | No |
Questions we actually get asked
What does a dappled willow look like in winter?
Bare. It is fully deciduous, so the pink and white foliage is gone by late autumn and what remains is an upright thicket of thin stems that colour up coral-red to orange through the cold months. Plenty of people plant it for exactly that second season, but it is not a winter screen. If you need something that blocks a view in January, plant an evergreen.
Is dappled willow deer resistant?
No. Willow is palatable and deer will browse it, particularly young plants in spring. It is a poor choice for an unprotected rural property line with real deer pressure.
Is dappled willow evergreen?
No, it is deciduous. The name confuses people because the variegated foliage looks so substantial in summer.
How big does a dappled willow get?
Roughly 6–9 ft tall and 5–7 ft across left alone. It reaches that size quickly — this is a fast plant, not a slow one.
How far apart should dappled willows be planted?
6 ft on centre for a continuous screen or hedge. Closer than that and they crowd each other within a couple of seasons. As single specimens, give each one about 7 ft of clear space.
Is dappled willow a tree or a shrub?
Naturally a multi-stem shrub. The "tree" you see sold is the same plant grafted onto a straight trunk so it forms a rounded head — a standard, not a true tree. We sell both, and they are listed separately above.
Does dappled willow make a good hedge?
Yes, on the right site. Planted at 6 ft it makes a fast, informal, brightly variegated summer hedge, and it will handle wetter ground than almost anything else you would use for the job. It is a summer hedge only — see the winter answer above.
Will it grow in a wet spot?
Better than most shrubs. Willows are wetland plants by nature and this one tolerates ground that stays damp or floods seasonally. It is a genuine solution for a low corner where most ornamental shrubs struggle.
Will it grow in shade?
It will survive in part shade but the colour is the reason you are buying it, and the pink new growth needs full sun to show properly. In shade you get a green shrub with faint white marbling.
What zone is dappled willow hardy to?
Zones 4a to 8a, which covers all of southern and central New England comfortably and most of the north.
Where can I buy a dappled willow near me?
From our yard in Newton, New Hampshire. We deliver across New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, and both the shrub and the standard tree form are in stock now.