Willow tree, is it ok?

Hi all,

I am after a bit of advice please. My wife and I have lived in our present property six years now and the weeping willow in our garden (the subject of this question) has always looked the way it should with the small branches weeping towards the ground.

This year however, It has not (see first picture) and yet a weeping willow on the parade of shops that we live by looks the same as it always has with the branches flowing towards the ground as these trees tend to do (second picture). Can anyone on here shed any light as to the health and well being of our willow tree please.

Many thanks in advance for any advice given.

 

Yours looks very dead to me.

 

Do you know of any reasons why it should be 'very dead' Palustris?

 

Any signs of Honey Fungus in your garden/surrounding area?

I moved into a house that had an amazingly large and beautiful willow tree. It was E-normous! Within 2 years it was a dead as a Dodo: reason? Honey Fungus!

 

Presumably it had leaves last summer?

Must admit it doesn't look like a weeping willow to me, and it looks like even the older wood from a couple of years ago was actually growing up wards rather than weeping.

It might well be a willow but it doesn't look like a weeping willow to me.

Only thing I can think of is that maybe the graft has died and what you are seeing is the rootstock taking over.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, I don't even know what Honey Fungus is or what it looks like I'm afraid so will have to research that. Yes, it did have leaves on last summer. I have included a picture of the willow tree from a few years ago when it was ok! please you tell me if it is a 'weeping willow' or not.

 

Right, yep it was a weeping willow, have you done any extensive pruning?

Notice some large branches have been cut out in the winter pic.

 

None whatsoever to be honest, the only cutting I have ever done was to cut the ends off the weeping branches a little to allow me to walk under the tree whilst mowing the lawn .

I have never cut any large branches off Pete.

 

Well, I can see at least three large scars where branches have been lopped.

The only reason I ask is because I wondered if it was grafted onto a tall stem of some other kind of willow.

 

I think I can see the scars you mean and I will say categorically that I have never cut any branches off this tree. I wouldn't have a clue about any grafting as I have no idea what that entails...

 

I'm convinced the tree is alive, but I cant think of any way a weeping willow can turn into a normal upright growing willow with out a plant being cut below a graft, or at least the graft dieing and the rootstock taking over.

Any grafting would have been done years ago before the tree was planted.