Dwarf Weeping Willow

[jjenj]

Hi all

Just moved house to where there is a mature garden. I am a ver amatuer gardener. There is a dwarf weeping willow that looks lik something has been eating the leaves. I have removed all the leave but is this enough? Should I treat it with anything? If so wth what Also should I prune it? If so how?

Many thanks in advance for your hel

-- jjenj

[symplastless]

Sorry. That was a good question. The links I posted are designed to help guide you with the care of your weeping willow. Any questions please ask.

- - Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Consulting Arborist

Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

It was a good question. One that none of your links seem to address since he didn't ask about planting, or mulching, nor fertilizing or pruning..

Well, maybe pruning but very indirectly..

At any rate, if you just moved in I'd say see how it fairs next year. Without being able to identify the problem you could easily do more harm than good.

Might be Japanese beetle.

Leaves look like this damage wise?

again there is a willow leaf beetle, it seems.

Anyway, my point is ID the problem first before doing any extensive spraying. The tree will be fine with its leaves looking like swiss cheese. Better to leave them on than to take the leaf off. After all, it's still a functioning leaf.

Well, unless they look like this.. :p

Now, if you can actually see what's munching on them, let us know what it looks like.. :) Pictures help if you can get a good one via digital camera.

Can just upload it to a free host and give the URL.

imageshack.com for example.

Just my two cents.. Good luck with IDing the problem! :)

[symplastless]

Its not important this time of year if something is eating the leaves of a willow. Most of the trees available amount of food has been stored in the form of starch in living parenchyma cells in the tree stem and woody roots.

Proper mulching, though not the question, is still not a bad idea for the willow tree. "When a tree is wounded, you should not treat only the wound but the entire tree." Shigo 1999 Tree Pithy Points

mulching can greatly influence the troubles in the rhisosphere in a positive way. thinking as I often do, there may be a chance this new property owner may plant another tree. Or it might be of value to show what proper planting consist of. Why? Because many tree problems that this willow may have, may be the direct result of improper planting. Thus placing the tree in a predisposition for secondary agents that get blamed for the decline of the tree. I have seen it too many times. It is not a Penn. problem or is it just a USA problem. If not the top, one of the most common tree problems worldwide come from improper planting of the trees.

"Ignorance of tree biology has been, and still is, the major cause of tree problems worldwide." Shigo 1999 Tree Pithy Points.