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Any idea what is wrong with my weeping willow?

ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
in Problem solving
I planted this a year and a half ago, when it was a lot taller than it is now. It lost quite a few twigs early on, and I suspected either deer or squirrels. However, I had to cut about 18 inches of dead wood off the top last year. There is now another section of the trunk that appears to have died. 
Anyone have thoughts on what might be wrong? We kept it well watered through the dry spell, but it’s obviously not happy.


Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited January 2021
    There are a lot of mature trees in the vicinity soaking up moisture. Unless the site is very wet, a willow just there will need a lot of watering ... willows are at their happiest on riverbanks or with their toes in a dyke ... did your tree have at least two large buckets of water every other day from March to late September last year ... more in warm dry spells?  If not then I’m afraid it’s dying of thirst 😢 



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    How much is "well watered"?   I brought a rooted cutting about that size from my neighbours' tree when we moved here and it took 15 litres a day thru hot spells and still needed more.  It's still slow now but seems to be doing better now it's had a chance to get its feet further down.

    Do you have grass or other plants right up to uts trunk?  I'd remove those and put down a mulch to reduce competition for water and retain moisture in teh soil better.

    I thin you need a proper stake too with ties that won't cause rubbing of the bark - and thus damage to the cambium layer which transports water and nutrients - as well as avoid strangulation.  This link will explain how - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=208 
    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
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    My first thought was it looked quite a lot like ash dieback - I know it's not an ash tree. So I looked up willow anthracnose, which can affect weeping willows, and wondered if that is it and it was carrying disease when you bought it? 

    I would say the top section looks dead and you can't prune back to that healthy looking side branch just below the second tie as the die-back goes right down to the junction.

    Whatever the cause, with such significant die back to the upper parts I doubt it will be the tree you want it to be in terms of shape and scale. You could coppice it and see what happens, though you will not get a weeping willow as it will be multi-stemmed. Is it worth starting over with a new plant?
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    I agree with what Rachael said that sadly the top section is dead.
    If you were careful then you might be able to gently pull that side branch vertical or almost to make a new leader.

    Or if it is too stiff wait for another new side branch to form and train it vertical.
    If you are growing it as a long term tree eventually the trunk would look okay.

  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    The area we planted it in never really dries out, pretty damp around there. The grass was taken right back around the trunk, and it has a good mulch. I was actually hoping it would suck up some of the wet ground and making it less soggy! I’ll change the ties when I get a chance, we used up all the proper ones and haven’t been to the garden centre for months. If it doesn’t pick up, I’ll move it to the ‘bog garden’, an area in the woodland where we think an underground spring comes to the surface. 
    Thanks for the useful advice and the links for further information.
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