Failed twisted willows
loli
Posts: 61
I have an area that gets evening sun between the edge of my patio and the wall. The previous home owners had left it like a sand pit but i created a trough and added soil manure etc to make it a nice place for something evergreen and tall. I was thinking bamboo as it is contained so spread should be minimal but the garden centre assistant convinced me to go for twisted willow. The willow was left in its tubs as we got a 2 weeks spell of bad weather and I couldn't plant it but it was happy, alive etc in the 10 litre pots that I bought them in. However once planted the leaves wilted, went brown and some of the stalks went black (I cut these off).I gave it some fertiliser, its not too dry or too wet. Any idea what happened. Should I remove the brown leaves - its quite pretty without the leaves when the brown is removed. Though I am a new gardener I do my homework before buying and have had success with any plant Ive bought so far. I feel that I shouldn't have listened to the garden centre and gone with the bamboo.I can post a picture of the sorry sight tomorrow. The garden centre said that they are grafted willows so would only need to be planted in a depth twice the pot, now I know that the roots have not spread that much in a few weeks so could that be the problem?
Posts
Could it be that the previous owners had treated the area with weedkiller?
Other than clematis which should always be planted deeper to encourage more shoots and stronger roots, I've always though plants should be planted at the depth they were in their pot. You need to soak the pot till no more air bubble appear, prepare the planting hole then loosen the roots before planting and back filling then water again.
If you've done all that and the plant has failed there is either a problem with your soil or a problem with the plant in the first place. I don't understand why a twisted willow would be grafted. You just need to take a twig or branch and put it in water or a pot of compost or the ground and it will root.
Try lifting the plant out and putting it in a bucket of water to see if it regrows leaves. If it does, you may need to check your soil. If it doesn't - take it back to the shop and get a refund or replacement.
If you have managed to kill it in that space of time that is indeed a rare talent. Try all of the above and if it fails to recover then back to the shop. Don't leave it too long or they'll blame you though.
Might also be something very simple like frost, in which case it should recover.
I think maybe you planted it too deep? Fastest way to kill a plant
Scrape away the soil,at the base and see if the stem / trunk is still underground and wet.
If so lift it out and replant at the right height.