Pruning weeping willow

Good afternoon everyone :D

I have a large weeping willow which has become to large for it's position.
When is the best time to cut it back?
How hard do i cut it back?

Thx Sean :D

 

Best time to prune any willow is once the Catkins have finished. They flower on wood produced in the preceeding summer. You can cut all willows as hard as you choose (except for those grafted ones).

 

See -
http://www.bluestem.ca/willows-pruning.htm

I cut ours back in November. Use the cuttings as pea/bean supports or shred them and add to compost heaps.

 

Thank you both. Think i will give it a good cut back this year. I was worried that if i cut it back to far i could kill it. Sounds like there pretty indestructible. :D

 

I pruned back one of our Corkscrew willows in early summer, once the catkins had finished and when I say pruned I mean PRUNED! All that was left was a stump. It is now at least 12 feet tall again with lovely yellow twisted stems.
The grafted Kilmarnock willow again early summer is taken back to about 6 inches from the point of origin. That too is now sweeping the ground underneath it. The only ones I do not regularly prune are the prostrate ones, like S. reticulata, or S. myrsinites, they are rather slower growing. Ditto S. x boydii. I do have another grund hugging willow which I do have to prune right back or it takes over, I will remember its name eventually, one of the Japanese places?
I would hesitiate to use any of the pieces as plant stakes, they will root even if put in upside down!

 

I am concerned that you say it is too big for its position. In what way? Is it near to buildings or to any sort of pipe? Weeping willows are big trees and their roots will seek out underground water pipes, sewer pipes etc. They are often planted in completely the wrong position. If the tree is near any of those items then pruning it will not affect the underground root system.
In my first house the previous ownewrs had planted a weeping willow which by that time was up to roof height and within 20 feet of the house. Within a fortnight of moving in I pruned it in the only way I though suitable - sawn down to a stump and the stump poisoned.
I believe in planting a tree for the position. There are smaller and more attractive trees for positions with less space.

 

The tree is at the bottom of my garden around 40 foot away from the house. It was there when i moved there last year. I said it's g6t to big because it's started to grow over the neighbours fence and it's blocking sunlight to some new borders i dug in september.

[ 03. December 2006, 07:45 PM: Message edited by: mowgley ]

 

Well if its only 40 feet away and that is the bottom of your garden I would say the tree is too big a specie for a garden that size. These are big trees and if you chop off a bit now you will be doing it forever. I would favour my method of pruning. You can get some trees that give you the same effect but have a mature size more in keeping with the scale of the garden...and are probably a lot more attractive - the weeping pear for one.

 

Yes I've seen them root when just left horizontal on the ground. They are just about the easiest things to root from woody cuttings. But if you prune in November/December and leave the "stakes" to dry off the ground until April/March they are very unlikely to grow again.
I've had no problems with re-growth.

 

found a picture of the willow tree from earlier in the summer. It's quite abit larger now.

 

Thats a tiddler.... I say chop, chop, chop before it becomes a monster. Looks like you have some leylandii that could benefit from the geoffhandley technique of severe root pruning!

 

I know i would love too, but there not mine to chop!!! Not a problem for me though because they dont block out any of my sunlight, they face north east

 

Plague

Ah yes the tree of death. I would also endorse recomendations to fell this tree, also have you considered a thin screed of concrete on top of the lawn area to remove the headache of mowing?

 

Roots have no intelligence and they will not seek out water pipes, sewer pipes or any sort of etc.

 

No intelligence but the ability to grow once they have found a good source of nutrient/water.

The Ash tree next to my plot went mental this year when it found the bit i'd been watering and feeding:DOH:

Its like too much surface watering leading to fine surface root systems.

Anyway, what are we all doing replying to a thread from the year dot:DOH::D Don't think they'll be watching anymore.