PlantFiles: Globe Willow, Navajo
Salix globosa

I appreciate their fun shape; they are giant glorious lime green puffballs in the spring. They can tap water tables for moisture, thrive in high alkaline and even salty soils, and easily weather extreme dry heat.

These were very popular trees in my area about twenty to ten years ago. (probably making up at least 75% of the new plantings) The appeal is that they are tough, grow very fast and have a desirable shape. They are, unfortunately short-lived; disease takes its toll often, branches are simply too weak. They use a great deal of water, making them not only near impossible to grow healthy turf under, but not a great tree for places where water is scarce. They get worse: Anyone who owns one will tell you that the leaves shed are amazingly numerous, dropped thoughout a long fall period, leaving a great deal of raking to be done. They also drop twigs, large branches (not good for cars and trucks, ask my neighbor about his crushed pickup shell) and also, a fine sappy substance that clings to and damages car paint.

Finally, I have asked the opinions and experience of several full-time tree-trimming people, two of whom are arborists, and their comment is this: the Globe willow provides a great deal of work for the local tree maintenence industry, being the majority of jobs. Its wood is brittle due to its fast growth, which makes this popular tree a dangerous one, often causing damage to homes and vehicles.

( I personally make use of them with the loads of compostable material and have kept the house warm many winters with Globe willow firewood!)

We have several of these trees planted along our fence in the backyard. These are beautiful trees that grow quickly and have a nice round shape. I have read alot about this tree and discovered it is prone to a disease called "frothy flux". Although I have not seen anything wrong with our trees, I will update this posting if anything occurs. Frothy Flux disease occurs as a result of a wound in the outer covering, causing a fermentation of the plant tissue. Be careful when mowing around these trees and using weed wackers. This can cause an injury to the cambium of the tree where the fermentation of the inner sapwood layers can occur. Frothy Flux can kill a Globe Willow quickly. Can anyone tell me what the brown spots are on the leaves of the picture I uploaded?