I don't know of any miniature willows. Even pussy willow will sucker like crazy given half the chance.

Oh, I remember my mom's pussy willow, come to think of it. Sticks coming out of the ground everywhere because of suckering.

Hmm... a small weeping willow would be such a beautiful little tree.

Come to think of it, I should have specified a WEEPING willow. :-)

There's a japanese dappled willow called Hakuro Nishiki that is the exception. It's more like a shrub than it is a tree. I've seen one trimmed to look like a mini tree (6 - 8 feet) and it's beautiful.

Hello! I just bought a weeping cherry tree for my cottage garden, maybe that would be ok for you? Not as delicate but still has the wispy look and i think its very cottage garden! Mine only gets 12' x 12' (so it says) it was 50 bucks at lowes. I love the willow look but too risky in our yard with a pond.
Ps- scully- im new here but noticed you are from pittsburgh? I am too (oakmont/verona)! So hello neighbor! Also, the statue in your post from the post one picture thread, is it Hebe? I thought it was so lovely!

DON'T plant a weeping willow anywhere near your yard. We have 3 huge old ones between us and the next door neighbor. They are beautiful in the summer but a total PITA otherwise. They are exceptionally fast-growing. The "whips" and branches break off any time a decent wind comes up - large enough that they have to be cleaned up before mowing. They seem to be far enough away from well and septic to not be a problem there, but I would check with your local Extension Service before planting, just to be on the safe side.

Some of my friends in the butterfly forum use the tree as a host plant for butteflies. They keep their trees isolated in a large pot.

I have three Weeping Willows, two Corkscrew Willows, two Pussy Willows (one black) and a few native ones. I love them. Willows are absolutely COTTAGE GARDEN and have been CG favorites from way back when! No tree says Cottage Garden like the majestic Weeping Willow.

I have a well and a septic system with leach lines and have not had any problems. Whether or not they become invasive has a lot to do with your soil type, subsoil the make up of your bedrock, as well as annual yearly rainfall and lack there of. The more water, the more they grow crazy.

I have sandy loam with clay subsoil on top of a bedrock of hard, iron stone rock (impenetrable). Water goes down fast and runs off quickly. Water on the surface evaporates quickly in the sandy soil.

As far as the limbs, branches and leaf debris, I find it part of the Cottage charm. In the fall, the fallen tree debris smells wonderful on cool, moist autumn days. Willow twigs and limbs make terrific kindling for your a fireplace or woodstove; it burns hot and kindles a nice fire really well and smells wonderful too.

Not only butterflies love willows, but also honeybees. In spring when the willows are in bloom, there are so many honeybees in my weeping willows that there a pleasant humming sound coming from them all day long. It is very pleasant, as far as I am concerned.

My kitty cats LOVE climbing the willows. They run up the tree trunks and hang upside down, peering down at me. So silly.

And their light shade is a delightful place to sit on any given day to sip lemonade and enjoy the smells, sights and sounds of your cottage garden.

I love them!
~Annie

I have the Japanese willow like ianna does, but I cut it to the ground each spring. Today it is about 8' tall and I love how it sways in the breeze. The only thing it sheds is leaves. I have it planted on the top tier of a 2 step rock garden mainly to hold everything together

Oh, gosh!
I forgot to mention that I have the Dappled Willow. I got it from GG this spring!
It has really grown and already a fine specimen. By next spring I expect quite a show of the pink, cream and light-green leaves of its new re-growth! Can't wait!
~Annie

I think with regards to well behaved willows, the Japanese one is the most suitable. I first saw it used in a garden transformation featured in Fine Gardening Magazine some years ago. It was used like a screen hedging set so close to the house and I was so curious about the plant that I contacted the magazine and obtained the name of the plant.

Also I've seen it used in a tiny front rock garden bed not far from my home and it looked spectacular. It seems easy to prune and easy to control.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments. (As usual!)

I do have a dappled willow bush. Several actually. They are lovely. I am really interested in an honest to goodness, old fashioned weeping willow. I guess I'll have to do more research into things. I knew some people had issues with these.

Lilyfinch-- howdy, neighbor. We're not too far away. I'm in the North Hills. (Where it is hilly.) :-)
I'm not sure what my statue is meant to represent. I got it at Gabriel Bros. three years ago for forty dollars! It was the only one and there were no tags. The woman appears to be holding a lobster. I should look into that. It is my very favorite thing in my garden!

To my knowlege, there are no dwarf form of weeping willows. You can lop off the tree to keep it small but that doesn't control root growth. I've seen an episode on house repairs where a willow's roots managed to penetrate the pipes inside the house. The roots actually broke through the foundation floor in that house's basement. What's more the tree was located in a yard several houses away. Talk about an aggressive tree.

The only way to control a weeping willow is simply to contain it with reinforced concrete planters. It has to be huge and would be terribly expensive.

Scully - I've always wanted one of these plain, real, old fashioned weeping willows for my garden, too, but aware of the potential problems it might bring, along with dire admonishments and eye-rolling from my husband. Anyway, I bought a 6' tall ww last spring from Lowes. I POTTED it in the biggest garden pot I could find and filled the pot with good potting soil (not dirt). It's grown twice its size and is a wonderful and glorious presence in my garden. Being potted, its roots will never travel to my water lines or septic system (or house foundation!), and it can be moved around if I decide I want it somewhere else. If/when it gets too large, I'll plant it in the ground far at the back corner of our house and buy another small ww to replace it. I hope you'll think about trying this - so far I'm very happy with it. The big pot at lowes is terra cotta-looking plastic and cost about $37 and it took a few big bags of really good potting soil to fill it - so there's a bit of an investment, but for me it was well worth it.
Pat

Pat - that's very interesting. Thanks for the idea! I'd really like to try something like that. My only concern would be overwintering the plant. I wonder if it would die in zone 6? Obviously, with a pot that big, it'd pretty much be staying put. Anyone have any insight into this?

Pat, Scully has a point. Plastic pots do work well but it won't insulate the plant. Your best approach if you wish to containerize a tree is to find or build a concrete planter and line it with styrofoam insulators (the ones used for houses).

Scully if you intend to go through with such a plan, obviously you will need to build the planter in place. Or if you wish to purchase the planter and have it delivered to the precise area you wish to set the tree. Any tree can be containerize and I have had experience in miniaturizing trees (like bonsai). Make sure the drainage holes are located on the side of the planter and not beneath. The reason is that willow roots will try to seek water and could escape through the hole. If the hole is located beneath, there's no chance you will be able to lift that planter to cut it off. However this will be able to do if the drainage holes are on the sides.

Willows are very hardy and they can withstand cold temps. But I have a feeling plastic pots will not be enough to keep the plant healthy. I presently have the corkscrew willow potted in terra cotta and it's been with me for the past 7 years. However I have it on a porch and so not as exposed as what you plan to do.

Oh, and the width of the crown of the tree would be approx. 2x the size of the planter. The height would be something like 3x or more the height of the planter. Basically the smaller the planter, the smaller the plant and the more you'd need to water them.

another thing, when you are ready to plant, take a pipe and sink it in the soil. Use this to water the plant since the pipe could reach the roots deep below. This is especially important when the plant starts to get root bound. Otherwise when you water, most of that will simply roll out and not reach the roots within.

Oh, my. I have a feeling my great idea for a willow has exceeded what I'll be able to do.

Ianna, those are wonderful directions, thank you. I would need help doing this. Have to see how the ol' gardening funds are next year.

I love weeping willows! We had one as a kid and I was devastated when my parents cut it down. It was a fort, a mysterious cave, a hidden garden and anything else we could come up with. I think they are very cottage garden and if you've got the space, it would be wonderful.

They can be a pain with sewers and water lines, but usually that's either when the tree is planted right over the lines, or they don't get enough water. Willows are water trees, so if you plant one, you'll need to give it a lot of water (depending on your soil). If you don't water them, their roots will look for water and get into trouble.

Good luck and I hope you find a way to include a weeping willow in your yard! I'm hoping to plant one myself next year :)