[1] The plant is native to the northeast regions of the North American continent; it is found on sand dunes, river banks, and lake shores in sandy, silty or gravelly soils.

[2] Salix cordata is the host species of the specialist herbivore beetle Altica subplicata.

[5] In Canada the range of Salix cordata extends from Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, descending south into the American states of Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Because it is a freshwater species, it is not native to Canadian Atlantic provinces, such as Nova Scotia.

It is one of the fastest growing and most easily propagated of eight different Salix species being tested for biomass production.