Scarlet Willow Sapling Trees

• Variety: Scarlet Willow, also called Coral Bark Willow, grown for its orange-red winter stems
• Latin name: Salix alba var. vitellina 'Britzensis', also sold as Salix alba 'Chermesina'
• Sold as: Bareroot saplings, 60/80cm tall
• Use: Coppiced or pollarded for winter colour, or grown on as a screening tree. Not a plant for a clipped hedge
• Size: Whatever height you pollard it to. More than 12m tall and 8m wide if left
• Stems: Bright orange-red young shoots, brightest on new growth
• Native: A garden variety of the native White Willow
• Best soil and site: Damp ground. Full sun for the best colour. Stands coastal wind
• Planting distance: At least 10m from drains and buildings, and 15m is better
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators. A male clone: catkins, and no fluffy seed
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Scarlet Willow, or Coral Bark Willow, is grown for its bright orange-red young stems, which light up damp ground in winter. Coppice or pollard it to keep the colour coming, or let it grow into a big screening tree. It is a vigorous male clone of the native White Willow, and it belongs well away from drains.

Scarlet Willow Sapling Trees

Scarlet Willow, Salix alba Britzensis, also known as Chermesina willow, has waxy yellow, orange and red young stems. This tree thrives on wet soil and sunny sites. It's usually coppiced into a large shrub or pollarded to maintain a constant display of bright young shoots.
Scarlet Willow isn't suitable for a clipped hedge.
It can be grown as a screening tree up to about 20 metres high.
The plants on this page are young saplings. You can also buy larger Scarlet Willow trees here.

View our selection of willow hedging or see our full range of hedging plants.

Scarlet Willow plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-April).

Choosing a size:
When you are ordering a large quantity of Scarlet Willow for a big planting project, we suggest that you buy smaller plants. They're cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and more likely to cope well with poor conditions.
All of our young trees and shrubs are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

General description of Salix alba Chermesina plants:

Common Names: Red Willow, Scarlet Willow, Coral Bark Willow
Botanical Names: Salix alba Britzensis, Salix alba Chermesina
Willows produce pollen rich catkins fairly early in the spring, which is good for bees. Scarlet Willow is a male clone, so it makes catkins but sheds no fluffy seed.
Scarlet Willow is almost always grown as a coppiced shrub or pollarded at a manageable height. This will keep it producing new stems with the superb orange-red bark, which fades in its second year and disappears in the third. Pruning it every other year will keep it looking great.

History & Trivia

This tree is a variety of White Willow, Salix alba, which is native in Britain. It was raised in Britz, Germany.

Planting Companions

Scarlet Willow is the Willow equivalent of a stem-colour Dogwood, at tree scale. Plant Golden Twig Dogwood and Westonbirt Dogwood beneath it for the same red and yellow idea at two heights. Violet Willow adds dark purple stems. For a bigger plant from day one, buy a Scarlet Willow tree. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Hedging and Young Trees?

Hedging and young native trees are not a sideline here: your Scarlet Willow saplings are grown for us by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Scarlet Willow the same as Coral Bark Willow?

Yes. Coral Bark Willow is a common name for it. You will also see it sold as Salix alba 'Chermesina' and as 'Britzensis': they are one plant.

How do you keep it small and colourful?

Pollard or coppice it. It is suitable for pollarding every three or four years, and the old page suggests every other year for the brightest stems.

How far from the house should you plant it?

Willow roots seek water and will find a leak in an old pipe. Keep it at least 10 metres from drains, septic tanks, walls and foundations, and 15 metres is more comfortable.

Are these the same as your Scarlet Willow trees?

Yes, the same clone. These are young 60/80cm saplings, and the trees are larger plants of the same variety. A pollarded Willow stays a much smaller risk to drains.

Can you grow Scarlet Willow as a hedge?

Not as a clipped hedge. Grow it as a coppiced shrub, a pollard or a screening tree. Left alone, it grows to more than 12 metres in 20 to 50 years.

Does it shed fluffy seed?

No. This clone is male, so it carries yellowish catkins with the young leaves in spring, which bees use, and it never sheds seed fluff.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the plants are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your plants are lifted and sent once the season opens.