weeping willow trees

[mandys_momma]

Anyone have one?

 

We bought one several years ago. The one trunk died off, but a new one developed. However, that trunk also died off last year and we cut the whole thing down the other day.

 

Sad...I love the look of a weeping willow.

 

Do they require a certain type of soil? What could we have done wrong to make it die?

 

I'm looking for tried and true advice, please.

[Cardinal Fan]

Although beautiful, weeping willows can be disastrous to your home. My parents had a large weeping willow quite a distance from their home, but it stilled uprooted their cement sidewalks and the roots got into the sewer system probably 10 times in 30 years. They shed too. If you live on a farm or out in the country where you can plant it away from your home then go for it. In a neighborhood setting or close to your home, forget it, you will be sorry in twenty years.  My parents never really did anything special to keep the willow alive. Once they take hold they are very sturdy.

[lavender]

I put in a weeping willow last fall and while the leaves came back this spring they promptly browned off and the tree died. My husband tried to stake it just before the disaster but I find it hard to believe that had anything to do with it.

The tree prefers growing near a water source. We planted ours near a spring seep. It they aren't getting enough water the roots will seek it out, as goldust says, breaking pipes, concrete and anything that gets in their way. They will take full sun but are often found growing with some shade. I put ours in partial shade thinking it might do better there.

They do grow in almost any kind of soil so I don't think that can be a problem.

I don't think they are hard to grow. Why some of them die off is a mystery to me. It could be root binding. You should always spread any bound up roots before you plant the tree.  Check to see if rabbits or other critters haven't girded the tree with their winter gnawing.

If you do figure it out let us know. I'm not giving up. I think they are a really beautiful tree.

p.s. It almost sounds as though you got a cultivar that isn't fully hardy around here. I've had the trunks freeze off certain fruit trees but the hardy roots will put up a new trunk for a few years before they give up and die.

[Petee]

I planted one about 20 years ago and it died off in a few years.  Neither water nor sun were a problem.  Either they love a spot or they kick their heels up and die.  Don't feel too bad, it may have done you a favor.

[mandys_momma]

We had always heard they liked lots of moisture, so we planted it in a part of our yard that got a lot of water....well away from our water and sewer lines.

 

Sounds like we didn't do anything wrong, at least not that I"m hearing from you all.

[Guest]

My favorite tree!

 

I also like the Quaking Ash.

 

I have neither.  :sad:

[Petee]

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/plant.asp?symbol=SASE10#details

[lavender]

My favorite tree!

 

I also like the Quaking Ash.

 

I have neither.  

:sad:

 

Now quaking aspens are another story. They grow wild right up to my back yard. I think that is why I have so many swallotails.

[gypsywannabe]

I know from experience weeping willows need light, sandy soil and a LOT of water. That's why they grow so well on Long Island. There's no clay there and you can put a twig into sand and it will grow.

 

One thing they cannot live through is the dreaded red mite that they get. That's a death sentance. If you look closely to the bottom of the leaves and see almost micrscopic red mites, that's your culprit.

 

The problem with growing them beautifully here is the clay in the soil. This area is rife with it.

[lavender]

I did kind of wonder about the drainage thing. It is what kills most of the stuff that doesn't make it for me. We have the very heavy clay soil and there are places that when you get about a foot down you could make pots out of it.

Plant labels that say "moist, well drained soil" always make me laugh. I bought a bog rosemary recently that had that on it. So how is a bog "well drained"? I looked it up. The theory is is that the soil in a bog floats on top of the water and therefore is loose and aerated. Maybe the same is true for the weeping willow which supposedly thrives near or almost in water.

I think you hit the most logical explanation, gypsy.

PS Do you still have a garden after your move?

[gypsywannabe]

I did kind of wonder about the drainage thing. It is what kills most of the stuff that doesn't make it for me. We have the very heavy clay soil and there are places that when you get about a foot down you could make pots out of it.

Plant labels that say "moist, well drained soil" always make me laugh. I bought a bog rosemary recently that had that on it. So how is a bog "well drained"? I looked it up. The theory is is that the soil in a bog floats on top of the water and therefore is loose and aerated. Maybe the same is true for the weeping willow which supposedly thrives near or almost in water.

I think you hit the most logical explanation, gypsy.

PS Do you still have a garden after your move?

iT'S AWFUL HERE.

I'm so unhappy. I got hooked up with the local Bradford Woods Conservancy and they were thrilled to get all the boxwoods and almost completely burned hostas (from being planted against a house in FULL SUN), brown eyes susans, coral bells, blue fescue and lamb's ears for their perennial sale fund raiser today. They also helped me clean out 10 yerars of junk in the back and tons of candy tuft. But the front of the house where the best sun is is just a mess. Someone put in heavy black plastic, 2 layers of HUGE river rock and then over the years other owners have covered that with small river rock and black mulch. Digging is almost impossible and the ground is so far above grade that the mulch is 6 inches above the bottom of the siding. I have so many perennials in DuBois waiting to come down here but planting is going to have to be delayed until I can get the landscaper for the condo assoc. in here to fix the grade to go down from the condo and not toward the condo foundation. I dug yesterday with them getting the perennials out and it felt so good to get back into the soil. But I'm very discouraged and very very depressed about the current state of this place. They pay a small fortune to a landscaping service that must employ idiots.

 

I knew I had it great in DUBois. The soil on the eastside is dreamy! But I never imagined anything could be this bad. I'm sure if I ask the conservancy people, now that they have invited me to be a member, they would dig those rocks out for me but I still can't plant anything until the grade is fixed and from what I understand from the neighbors, they won't do anything unless you just about take them to court.

 

And now that PSU football season and Steeler season is in full swing I can't count on my kids either.

 

SO, it's going to be a challenge.

 

Back to the willows, it's strange that they like a lot of water but can't live in clay, huh?

[lavender]

Sounds horrible, gypsy. Glad you found some helpers. I've come to the conclusion that plastic ground covers not only don't control weeds but they are a real pain. We just about had to chisel the one off the butterfly bed at Parker Dam. The roots of the weeds had gone through it and pinned it to the soil.

Good luck with it all.

I've decided not to try to replace the weeping willow. If they won't grow in clay it is hopeless.