Steph1 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 We bought two Weeping Willow trees last year, this Spring one has come into leaf and the other one has no leaves at all on the branches but is sprouting all the way up the trunk, can anyone advise why this has happened? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I would think that the branches have died back, this happens quite a lot with weeping willows and shouldn't be of any concern if it is still showing plenty of life elsewhere. Just cut the dead pieces of.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph1 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 Thanks for your reply. There are no leaves at all on the branches should I cut all the branches off and just leave the trunk with the new shoots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 Perhaps it would help if you could say how large the tree is and how large / thick the dead branches are, not that it is very important but it would be interesting to know. Leaving the dead wood on for a bit longer won't make any difference.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph1 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 Thanks for your reply. The circumference of the trunk is about 6 inches and the branches are very thin as it is only a young tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 If the existing branches haven't started into leaf by now they aren't likely to do so. Even oop north in Normandy they are all in leaf now. So I doubt there's anything to gain from leaving the old ones on. If you're still not sure you could gently scrape the bark and see if there's any sign of life (damp sap, green:yellow colouring = live, brown and dry = dead).Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 In that case, unless anyone disagrees strongly, I would say cut them of cleanly but leave a couple of centimetres "stub" , this will go in time of its own accord.I really don't think it's anything to worry about and quite common in weeping willows.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 When we moved house I took cuttings from a weeping willow which (mainly) took. these were temporarily (3 years) in pots and dried out occasionally and I discovered from this that willows will drop their leaves if sufficiently drought-stressed. It must be some sort of protection mechanism because - provided they aren't left entirely without moisture for too long - when rehydrated they produced new leaf. Perhaps this is what happened to yours? There's nothing to be lost by leaving the tree as it is even if it looks completely dead. Who knows, it might burst into life again. I certainly wouldn't bin anything unless it was dry enough to snap!p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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