Of all the weeping willows available to gardeners, 'Tristis' is consistently recommended first. The golden-yellow twigs are at their most vivid after the first frost, when the color deepens noticeably against bare winter ground, and the long pendulous form sweeping toward water is genuinely theatrical. Like the straight species, it leafs out earlier than almost anything else in the spring garden and holds its foliage deep into autumn.

The trade-offs are real. Weak wood breaks under ice and snow. Leaf litter accumulates in quantity. Roots spread aggressively and will pursue water pipes and drainage systems with determination. Grow in full sun on moist to wet ground, prune in late winter or early spring, and reserve it for spots where its scale and habit can be properly appreciated — beside a large pond, along a stream, or anchoring the back corner of a property where the roots have nowhere troublesome to go.