is my weeping willow tree dying ?

annie123

Your grass roots only go down 2" your tree roots go down up to 3'.

Once your tree has recovered, little and often isn't best for it, much better to stick the hose on it for a few hours every week when it's dry, than give it 10 mins a day.

If it was my tree I'd have the hose on low for 6 hours but that would not make your hubby happy as the grass around it would be very soggy. You can't over water that tree.
To see how much water he's really giving it, fill up watering cans and do it that way.

annie123

willow canker: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=575

But you have said you've got black spots on the leaves.

3v3

kadiekaismummi wrote: »

Hi,
I was wandering if anybody has any advice on weeping willow trees... I moved into my new home last sept, & have a beautiful weeping willow tree in the middle of our garden which is 40/50 feet high..... the leaves were a beautiful green last year & very healthy looking.... this year the leaves have budded out & suddenly started dropping & going yellow, the leaves are dropping at a fast rate, & gradually going bare, ive been away for a week & have come home to find a big difference in the way the wilow is looking, with yellow eaves & twigs everywhere.... Im feeling very sad, as im now thinking that our tree is dying, which is a shame it was such a beautiful centre piece in our garden, its looking very shabby now..... is there anyone who know how the tree shoud be looking this time of year or anything I can look for for disease ????.... ive been looking at it but cannot find anything other than it ooking so unhealthy now.... any help to have such a fab tree would be much welcomed.... X

Good grief! I could have written this post!! :rotfl:

I moved a year ago; have a willow that is guestimated as 80 years old; professional tree surgeon gave it a really good trimming just after I moved here and now, mine is in the same condition you describe for yours.

I think its the weird weather we're having, the unseasonably hot spell in Spring, dry weather, windy weather, hit-and-miss rain. I don't think yours (or mine) is dead - some of the branches/logs kept for edging have sprouted (on concrete!) so I do know they are very hardy fighters.

I agree, its looking incredibly sad, but I'm optimistic it will be ok. I'm going to let nature do its job - my willow is far enough away from the house to not want to be carrying buckets and I don't produce enough grey water anyway.

Conversely, the old apple tree last year had but a handful of fruit, but this year it is absolutely groaning with fruits!

Blackjack_Davy

Willows naturally grow in river banks and damp places. I think that gives you an idea as to what it's needs are...

gardenroute

kadiekaismummi wrote: »

the bark around the tree also seems to have come away from the tree in many areas it feels hollow when tapped

If the bark has come away then it can't move water and nutrients around the plant. If it feels hollow when tapped its because the wood is rotten. The tree is dead; no amount of water will do anything.

Willows are not long lived trees - 50 years would be a reasonable life expectancy. I've seen willow logs produce stems with leaves for a couple years after they were cut; and in IMHO I think this is what this tree is doing. As sabretootthtigger said the roots are dead and its just the top half of the tree that's still alive.

a1cat

gardenroute wrote: »

If the bark has come away then it can't move water and nutrients around the plant. If it feels hollow when tapped its because the wood is rotten. The tree is dead; no amount of water will do anything.

Willows are not long lived trees - 50 years would be a reasonable life expectancy. I've seen willow logs produce stems with leaves for a couple years after they were cut; and in IMHO I think this is what this tree is doing. As sabretootthtigger said the roots are dead and its just the top half of the tree that's still alive.

Our big willow came down in a storm last year - it was completely rotten in the core, not that you would have noticed until you could se the rot.

I cut back to healthy-ish wood about 1m high and it is still alive, throwing up new growth and reasonably attractive.

Yorkie1

There is also the point that we had an incredibly cold winter last year. Sometimes it takes a while for the impact to show. But I agree with the post about it needing / preferring damp conditions; this is the most likely reason - we had a long dry period earlier in the year.

3v3

gardenroute wrote: »

... Willows are not long lived trees - 50 years would be a reasonable life expectancy. ..

Wow, really!? Mine was aged about 80 years old by a professional; in which case, mine is a real old warhorse :rotfl: Does that depend on species of willow?

gardenroute

a1cat wrote: »

Our big willow came down in a storm last year

And this is what will happen when the wood is rotten. A directed fall/sectional take down by a tree surgeon is better than letting it blow down in the wind. You could get a quote a from a tree surgeon - most will have basic botanical knowledge and can explain what/where the cambium layer is and why a tree can't survive without it.
As 3v3 said in his first post the stems will throw out leaves without any roots at all.
Trees, like people have a general life expectancy. When they live in good conditions they will live longer, and some individuals just survive for a long time despite years of unhealthy living. 50 years would be a youngish age for a willow tree to start dying; but its not unusual.

sirbrainy

Ours was only about 35 years but was 'got at' by boring grubs, full of them.

Not sure which came first - rot or grubs. Anyone?