4-6 feet high and wide is because of the constant pruning you do to keep it compact. Otherwise you get a willow, one that gets big and gets those desirable tips on the branches, but because it hasn't been pruned, has fewer branches.

It is not a foundation shrub, but I would not get too concerned about roots if you plant it 25, 30 feet away.

It can certainly be a foundation shrub - much like shrub dogwoods, shrub willows can be hard pruned annually to a desired height or about 6-10" from the ground. This is known as 'stooling' and keeps them small, compact and dense. And with a heavy foliage effect. Totally appropriate as a foundation planting!

But even allowing them to grow to full size does not pose any root issues - they have a much more modest and less aggressive root system than do tree willows and as Ken stated, foundation issues are more a concern of the structural integrity of the foundation than of anything planted close to it.

I think a shrub that takes stooling to keep it as a foundation plant is not a good foundation plant. With that mentality, white oak bonsais can also be called foundation plants. Most homeowners do not want something they absolutely have to prune or spray or fool with, or else they have a mess on their hands.

So far as trusting that your foundation is whole, without a single crack, what happens when you find out the slab is cracked, or the block foundation has a crack, or the poured walls contain some imperfection? Do you sue? Why not avoid potential problems and plant the things that stay small near the house and things that grow tall farther away?

Top-grafted (ball on a stick) or shrub form?

Why not avoid potential problems and plant the things that stay small near the house and things that grow tall farther away?

Because it can make for an incredibly boring, cookie cutter landscape!

As a designer and consultant, I encounter all manner of residences of all vintages - turn of the century (20th) homes, brand new construction and all sorts in between. Different housing styles call for different garden styles and some "foundation" plantings are huge, deep beds that can and should accommodate quite large plants. There is NO landscaping rule (or horticultural rule for that matter) that states you cannot have something of size planted adjacent to the residence -- it depends on the homeowner's personal choice. Older homes and gardens tend have older and larger trees and shrubs as foundation plantings. That's just kind of the way things work out.....no one is necessarily suggesting they all be ripped out in favor of dwarf plants just cuz they are planted near a foundation :-)

One would hope an inspection prior to purchasing and continuing vigilence after purchasing would ensure a structurally sound foundation. That's just part of responsible homeownership. FWIW, it takes a particularly aggressive root system to damage a cracked foundation - much more aggessive than most shrubs and a good many trees possess

"Because it can make for an incredibly boring, cookie cutter landscape!"

I disagree. The world is full of plants for any particular zone. If you eliminate the invasive ones, the ones with peculiar "health problems" and the ones the homeowner just doesn't want, you still have a big palette of plants.

I can tell you that as a homeowner, I have nothing that needs constant care near the house, and no way can my place be described as "cookie cutter". In fact, I think the opposite is true, because when a homeowner asks for something white or silver near the home, all the consultants run for a Salix integra. I know they are easy to find and guarantee work for the following year, but maybe a variegated Weigela or a Silver Leaf Dogwood or some other small plant would do. I can point out 10 houses with a willow for that whitish effect around here, and not a single other plant. I also pass a couple houses where the landscape has been allowed to "mature" because of changing circumstances, and these willows are big and rank.

Circumstances change, plant growth patterns don't. If you plant a tree that needs constant pruning near the foundation, and you sell the house, the new homeowners have to continue to prune or rip it out. Or if a job disappears and with that goes the budget for your gardening help, what do you do? Or if the kids grow up and move out, your time is now spent mowing rather than pruning. Add to that the accumulation of years, and you can either keep pruning or sell the house.

So far as needing a vigorous plant to invade a crack in the foundation. Here's one story. My buddy bought a split level with room on the north side for a garage. The basement had been clubbed, but the paneling etc. was at the end of its life. He decided to cut through the foundation to make a door to the new walk out garage. (Sloping ground about 25ft. outside that end allowed for a ground level entrance once the garage was added.) It turns out there was a small crack in his block foundation. It had been hidden by some boxwood shrubs on the outside and the interior wall on the inside. The roots of the boxwood (not a species known for aggressive roots) had almost filled the space behind the studs where the insulation was. The crack was only about 5 or 6 blocks tall, maybe 1/4 inch wide at the widest. Still, the roots were there. Not saying they were threatening anybody's health or anything, just saying that given enough time, small roots can build and build and build.

You can disagree all you want - it's just a matter of opinion. It is just misleading and incorrect to infer that anything of size planted close a house is going to cause problems. It is not ncessarily that direct a cause-and-effect relationship. For any one that does, there are tens or dozens or maybe even hundreds more that do not.

Any garden involves maintenance, just as does home ownership. It boils down to the owner's inclination to involve themselves in either. And to weigh that against the type of plants they prefer or the landscape aesthetic they desire. And a shrub willow is just not gonna be a big deal, either in terms of maintenance or potential damage to a previously sound foundation. YOU may choose not to plant one for whatever reason but that should not influence the OP if they choose otherwise.

Shrubs (and trees) need to be in scale with size of house to look good. How big of a shrub is right for the spot depends on how big the house is.

I agree, it is opinion. And I enjoy pruning. Pruning and weeding are Zen activities. So for my lifetime, I could plant a Doug Fir against the house and it would be pruned. But I still think planting a tree that wants to grow to 20ft. and having to maintain it religiously is borrowing trouble. I see too many Yew bushes in front of windows to think change doesn't come around all the time.

Also, I do not want to leave anybody with the notion that any smallish shrubs can make cracks in a foundation. It takes a large rooted plant, or a large tree to crack a well constructed foundation. But, if you have a tiny crack, some roots will get in there.

is a dappled willow safe to be within 10-15 feet of a pool? ty

If an inground pool and structurally sound, yes. If an above ground pool, no issue at all :-)

Thanks garden gal, just to clarify & not worry, my pool is underground & I planted 3 dappled willows on the furthest outside of patio.. It's not a cement lined pool ( gunite). It's a salt water pool & the walls are heavy duty galvanized walls with a liner. Am I ok?

plants do NOT cause problems .. they take advantage of pre existing problems ... you should be fine ...

and we arent talking about driveways nor sidewalks and 50 to 100 years ...

ken