Grow and Care for Silk Tassel

Grow silk tassel in sun or afternoon shade, in soil that drains, with shelter from hot wind. Silk tassel is Garrya elliptica, also sold as silk tassel bush.

Give it sun or afternoon shade, soil that drains, and shelter from hot wind

Silk tassel wants sun or light shade and a hole that drains. Water a new plant through the first dry season so the roots take, then skip extra water; an established shrub takes dry weather better than a wet winter hole. Shelter it from hot afternoon wind so the leaves do not scorch, and do not count on it in a hot, humid southeastern summer. [1] wavyleaf silktassel is the species evergreen. James Roof is a named male of the same shrub, grown for tassels about a foot long. [2]

1. Choose full sun on the coast. Inland, give it morning sun and afternoon shade.
2. Set it in soil that drains. Clay, loam, or sand is fine if water does not stand around the roots.
3. Give it a wall, fence, or nearby screen that breaks hot afternoon wind.
4. Water through the first dry season. After that, skip extra water unless the shrub wilts in a long drought.
5. Match the kind to the display you want. James Roof is the long-tassel male. Wavyleaf silktassel is the species shrub, and an unlabeled plant may be female with shorter catkins.

Plant at the same depth as the pot, on a mound if the clay stays wet

Knock the shrub from its pot and set the root ball at the same depth it was already growing. On heavy clay, plant on a low mound so winter rain does not sit around the roots. Leave room for an eight- to twelve-foot shrub. Water after you plant, and water again in dry weather until the roots take. [3]

1. Plant in fall or spring while the soil is workable, in sun or afternoon shade that drains.
2. Set the root ball even with the surrounding soil. Do not bury the stem deeper than it grew in the pot.
3. On heavy clay, plant on a low mound so winter rain runs off. A low spot that stays wet can kill the shrub.
4. Leave eight to twelve feet between plants for a screen. Leave more room if you let it become a small tree.
5. Water to settle the soil, then keep the first dry season from baking the new roots.

Prune right after the catkins fade, not in fall

Silk tassel flowers on last year's wood. Prune as the winter catkins fade and before new growth starts, so you do not cut next winter's tassels. A light cut is enough. Hard cutting into old wood makes awkward new shoots, so leave the rounded shape if you have the room. [4]

1. Wait until the catkins fade in late winter or early spring, then prune before new growth starts.
2. Cut out dead, rubbing, or badly placed stems. Leave the rounded shape if you have the room.
3. Do not prune in fall. Fall cuts remove the wood that will carry next winter's tassels.
4. Do not shear it like a hedge unless you accept fewer catkins. Hard cutting into old wood makes awkward new shoots.

Fan it on a wall if you want extra shelter

A wall, fence, or nearby screen breaks hot wind and gives the catkins a backdrop. Plant near the wall and tie a few stems as they grow. Prune after the catkins fade, the same way you prune a free-standing shrub.

1. Set the shrub near a wall that breaks hot afternoon wind, in soil that drains.
2. Tie a few strong stems loosely to wires or nails as they grow, so the catkins can hang free.
3. Prune after the catkins fade. Cut stem by stem. Do not run a hedge trimmer over the leaves.

How to grow silk tassel from a cutting

A named male such as James Roof will not come true from seed, so a cutting is the way to copy the long tassels. Take a semi-ripe stem in late summer, stick it in a mix that drains, and keep it humid until roots form. Rooting can be slow, and not every stick takes, so start more than one.

1. In late summer, cut a firm current-year shoot about four to six inches long, just below a node.
2. Strip the lower leaves. Leave two leaves at the tip.
3. Dip the cut end in rooting hormone if you have it, then insert the stem into a mix that drains, such as potting mix cut with perlite or coarse sand.
4. Keep the mix barely moist and the cutting in bright shade with still, humid air until roots form. Do not sit the pot in a saucer of water.
5. Grow the rooted plant in a pot for a season before you plant it out, and do not twist the roots when you move it.

Not a pussy willow — and not a silk tree or spotted laurel

Silk tassel on a Garrya tag is this evergreen with wavy, leathery leaves and long winter catkins. Pussy willow is Salix, a deciduous shrub with fuzzy early catkins and no evergreen screen — see How to Grow Willow. If the tag says silk tassel and the leaves stay on through winter, you still have Garrya.

Silk tree is Albizia, a ferny summer tree with pink puffs, not winter tassels — see How to Grow Silk Tree. Spotted laurel is Aucuba, a gold-dust shade shrub in the same family, grown for spotted leaves and red berries, not winter catkins — see How to Grow Spotted Laurel. Chenille plant is Acalypha, with hanging red tassels on a tender shrub. Oregon white oak is Quercus, sometimes called Garry oak after the same namesake; it is a deciduous oak, not this evergreen.

Set silk tassel in sun or afternoon shade, in soil that drains, and skip extra water once the roots take.