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willow dome

phillip_moore6phillip_moore6 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
i have a willow dome that looks as though it has grown beyond repair. it is also covered in black sticky (from aphids i believe). 
will i be able to clean the stems with soapy water before i start to try and repair this dome.
i am looking to get another dome for the school but want to try and use as much of the old as possible to strengthen and another project.
philmoore6

Posts

  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    A photo would be good to help us assess the dome. Willow suffers in periods of drought and will structures have the canes planted so close to each other there is a lot of competition for moisture at the roots.

    Re the aphids, the RHS advice is to use an aphid-control product.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Sometimes the RHS is behind the times when it come to products.  I would use a hose pipe with the spray nozzle on blast setting to dislodge the aphids and their sticky stuff.

    I also think that living willow structures only work well in very wet areas with plenty of rain or a naturally boggy soil.   They suck up amazing amounts of water and their roots can do serious damage to any drains or water pipes or foundations within reach or, alternatively, bits of the structure die off.  You can help by keeping it well trimmed and reducing the foliage mass.

    If the basic form is still OK you can "repair" it by pruning back all side stems and shoots heading off in the wrong direction but i'd wait now till it is bare and you can see the structure.   Any of the longer shoots you remove can be used as replacements for dead stems in teh original structure or to make a new one.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • phillip_moore6phillip_moore6 Posts: 4
    the reason i suggesting soap water is because i am not able to get a hose or jet washer near enough during school time and the children all around.
    safety gone mad!!!
    while the soil is clay the dome is at the top of a 4 ft mound so drainage isn't great.
    i am considering setting a new one up and use a lot of the shoots from the top (plus what i can salvage from the old dome) which has gone wild to help strengthen it.
    thank you for advise 
  • saleshS-IJQ5esaleshS-IJQ5e Posts: 1
    Hi,
    You can cut the dome right back to clean 1.5m stumps now, and then with selected new growth you can re make the top half of the structure fairly successfully next autumn. I have done this many times for schools to rescue domes and wigwams that are overgrown. Taking back to bare stumps tends to see off the bugs too. They can attract wasps and become problem if not dealt with.
    Peter
    Peter
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You've been flagged again @saleshS-IJQ5e.
    Advertising has to be paid for, regardless of what you're posting. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Probably too late as a measure for this year, Peter, but my treatment for aphids is to boil rhubarb leaves, strain the liquid and leave to cool, before filling a household spray bottle and spraying them with it.  If you feel the problem is likely to erupt again next year, perhaps you could make up some of the solution when rhubarb is at its height, and save it?  I presume all such leaves have gone for this year.
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