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Is this goat willow on it's way out already?

deadendwaterfalldeadendwaterfall Posts: 70
in Problem solving
It gets watered every three days unless there has been heavy rainfall during that week. It has been in the ground since early April, but when planted, it didn't have a single leaf on it.




Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It'll always struggle more if it doesn't have space round it - all that competition for moisture. It's a willow - impossible to overwater them. 
    Sun and wind will always affect foliage - of any plant. It isn't necessarily a problem, and it'll drop the old stuff as it matures and grows new foliage. No plant stays immaculate all the time.

    They get enormous. Are you sure you want it? Most people are desperate to get rid of them when they seed into their garden. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • deadendwaterfalldeadendwaterfall Posts: 70
    Fairygirl said:
    It'll always struggle more if it doesn't have space round it - all that competition for moisture. It's a willow - impossible to overwater them. 
    Sun and wind will always affect foliage - of any plant. It isn't necessarily a problem, and it'll drop the old stuff as it matures and grows new foliage. No plant stays immaculate all the time.

    They get enormous. Are you sure you want it? Most people are desperate to get rid of them when they seed into their garden. 
    I'm certain I want it. 
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    It looks fine to me.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    Assuming it's dehydrated, which it looks like it is..
    There should be new tips growing from by the crispy leaves soon. When they appear, take the old leaves off carefully. Give it ridiculous amounts of water, and if possible, shade it in hot sunlight for a while. It will regrow, and shouldn't need much once it'sestablished.
  • deadendwaterfalldeadendwaterfall Posts: 70
    Slow-worm said:
    Assuming it's dehydrated, which it looks like it is..
    There should be new tips growing from by the crispy leaves soon. When they appear, take the old leaves off carefully. Give it ridiculous amounts of water, and if possible, shade it in hot sunlight for a while. It will regrow, and shouldn't need much once it'sestablished.
    When you say ridiculous amounts of water, would two watering cans worth of water do the trick? 
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    Yeah that should do, but for a few days you could give two in the morning and two at night just to give it a good soak.
    I've got one in a pot (not ideal but I'm growing it to plant out) and I didn't notice it was drying through the day, I moved it so the pot and some of the tree was shaded, and gave it tons of water - a week or so later it was fine and growing the new leaves.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    As I said earlier - it's impossible to overwater them. 
    You have to ask yourself whether it's worth wasting that amount of resources on it though, especially if it doesn't have an ideal site. 
    They're quite hard to kill though, which is why they can be a problem in many gardens, so you could just let it get on with it itself.
    It's really not an ideal time of year to plant anything woody [ late spring into summer] especially if you're in a drier area and it's into grass. The site needs to be well prepped first. It's why autumn or through winter is ideal, and it's completely different from something self seeding into a site by itself. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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