Salix babylonica
My grandparents’ neighbor had a corkscrew weeping willow tree, and I used to be satisfied it was one thing out of a fantasy world.
How else do you clarify the lengthy, weeping, twisted branches that had been equally as helpful as a whip to keep at bay an imaginary charging bull or for imagining you’re strolling by means of an enchanted forest as they drape down from the cover and over your shoulders?
Solely a magical tree may very well be seemingly proof against the constraints of winter, leafing out when the snow was nonetheless a foot deep on the bottom. And the gnarled trunk was clearly crafted for a fairytale household of elves.
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I spent hours up in its branches studying books and marveling at how the leaves, so seemingly insignificant individually, mixed to make a show that appeared like a sleek big carrying a coat manufactured from inexperienced feathers. I’m not the one one captivated by them.
Napoleon took consolation within the shade of a weeping willow whereas he was exiled, Shakespeare’s Desdemona sings her “Willow Tune,” and Claude Monet did an entire collection of work centered on them.
They seem in artistic endeavors, from tombstones to pictures, across the globe and all through historical past, and nearly everybody I do know can paint a fantastical picture of their minds if you ask them to image one.
If you happen to’re captivated by the willow spirit and wish to carry one to life in your backyard, you’ve come to the precise place. Study extra about rising willows generally right here.
On this information, we’ll assist you choose a weeping willow, plant it, and nurture it into your dream tree.
Right here’s what we’re going to go over:
I’ve to admit that weeping willows misplaced somewhat of that magic as I received older, however that was solely till I discovered that web site choice is essential.
Put one among these within the mistaken place and also you’re going to be cursing your willow moderately than singing its praises.
If you happen to stay in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9 and have some room, you’re in luck. Let’s speak about the place weeping willows got here from earlier than we leap into methods to take care of them.
Cultivation and Historical past
Weeping willows (Salix babylonica) hail from northern China, however their magic has unfold far and vast. They’ve been cultivated in Asia for 1000’s of years and had been traded alongside the Silk Street.
This species traveled from Syria to England in 1730. At the moment, weeping willows are wildly widespread in Asia, Europe, and the US.
The particular epithet babylonica comes from Carl Linneaus, a Swedish botanist, who named it as a result of he believed it to be the tree talked about within the Bible that grows alongside the rivers of Babylon. However the biblical reference may very well be to poplars, that are carefully associated.
At one level, S. babylonica and S. matsudana had been thought to be completely different species. At the moment, they’re typically accepted as synonyms for each other. Having stated that, the taxonomic standing of this genus is in flux, so it’s all the time altering.
As willow consultants, analysis geneticists, and horticulturists Frank S. Santamour Jr. and Alice Jacot McArdle wrote in their 1988 paper “Cultivars of Salix babylonica and different Weeping Willows,” “The very fact is that many of the “weeping” willows presently cultivated in the US should not S. babylonica.
Moreover, if these weeping bushes are identified by every other title, that title can be in all probability incorrect.”
That’s as a result of the unique willow described by Linnaeus was in all probability a clone of a clone dropped at the Netherlands. This specimen is probably going the mum or dad of most willows grown in Europe and North America.
On high of that, there are such a lot of hybrids and cultivars on the market {that a} reclassification is perhaps so as, with the paper’s authors proposing over 30 years in the past that we check with the vast majority of weeping willows with the cultivar title ‘Babylon’ moderately than the species.
At any charge, the bushes we’ll talk about right here all have extraordinarily comparable traits, and the traits in query that might set them other than a real S. babylonica are so refined that the typical dwelling gardener wouldn’t have a clue what to search for.
So, what does our weeping willow appear like?
The trunks are lined in tough, grey, deeply-furrowed bark. Within the spring, yellow shoots emerge, regularly increasing into lengthy, easy, lanceolate leaves with serrated edges.
The highest of every leaf is inexperienced and the underside is grayish-green, giving them a rippling look once they dance in a breeze. The alternate leaves cling to lengthy, weeping branches with clean yellow bark.
Within the spring, the bushes ship out inch-long yellow catkins lined in tiny flowers. These then type laborious, dry capsules lined in a high-quality fuzz.
Weeping willows have lengthy been a logo of unhappiness and mourning. Good factor nobody informed me that after I was daydreaming in a crotch of branches excessive above the bottom.
Monet’s 10 willow portraits had been his response to the sorrow within the aftermath of World Battle I. Desdemona’s “Willow Tune” is one among sorrow and dying. However the frequent 1800s willow motif on gravemarkers and tombstones isn’t simply one among mourning.
Individuals additionally see it as a promise of rebirth and new beginnings. If you happen to’ve ever seen how readily the younger branches can create a brand new, thriving specimen, it’s simple to know why.
In Chinese language Buddhism, the bodhisattva Guan Yin is usually depicted as or with a willow department, which is thought to characterize resilience.
Sadly, weeping willows are short-lived. It’s not unusual for them to die after simply 30 years or so. That stated, my grandparents’ neighbor’s willow continues to be going after 50 years, so it’s attainable for them to stay longer.
This and all members of the Salix genus appeal to some welcome pollinators once they bloom within the spring, similar to willow (Andrena andrenoides), japanese willow (A. bisalicis), red-bellied (A. erythrogaster), chilly (A. frigida), tufted (A. illinoiensis), Macoupin County (A. macoupinensis), Maria (A. mariae), A. nida, black (A. nigrae), small willow (A. salictaria), and Wellesley miner bees (A. wellesleyana).
If you happen to develop crops like blueberries, apples, and huckleberries, you may’t discover higher pollinators. Plant a weeping willow close by and watch the spring pollinator present unfold.
Weeping willows develop quick, as much as 4 ft per 12 months, however the brand new development is weak and breaks simply. Timber will quickly ship out alternative branches once they break or if they’re pruned.
Weeping Willow Propagation
You probably have entry to a weeping willow which you could take just a few cuttings from, you’re in luck.
This tree reproduces enthusiastically that manner. You can too choose up a teenager at most nurseries.
Let’s have a look at propagating cuttings first.
From Cuttings
I’ve by no means labored with a plant that’s simpler to develop from stem cuttings. And it’s not that I’m some propagation genius! Individuals really make do-it-yourself root starter utilizing willows.
If you happen to’ve ever purchased rooting hormone, it in all probability contained an artificial type of indolebutyric acid. That acid happens naturally in Salix species. In different phrases, they make their very own rooting hormone, in order that they’re able to root with none further assist.
Anticipate a day with temperatures above freezing in February or March when the branches are beginning to present indicators of life, however they haven’t budded out but.
Seize a few 18-inch lengths of stay branches which can be across the identical diameter as a pencil. Give them a mild bend to see in the event that they’re alive. Don’t take any that snap moderately than bending.
Bundle the branches collectively and tie them with a chunk of string. Place them in a big plastic bag together with a moistened sponge or a wad of wetted sphagnum moss.
Place this within the fridge for 4 weeks. Regulate the moistened materials to make sure that it doesn’t dry out or that any mould is forming.
If you happen to see mould, wipe it off utilizing soapy water or take away the bundle and let it air out for just a few hours. Place it in a brand new, contemporary bag with a contemporary sponge or moss.
As soon as the sticks have chilled for a month and the soil may be labored exterior, insert every reducing into the soil in order that a couple of third of it’s beneath the soil line.
Ensure to take note of the last word measurement of your tree. Don’t plant cuttings inside 20 ft of something you don’t need smothered in willow branches or invaded by roots.
Maintain the soil moist. Don’t let it dry out.
Give it just a few weeks, and the cuttings ought to develop inexperienced, leafy development and roots underground.
That is the strategy that’s most probably to achieve success.
However you may take a reducing at any time of 12 months that the soil may be labored so long as you’re capable of maintain it watered, and you’ll skip the cooling interval. Simply take your reducing, stick it within the floor, and maintain the soil moist.
This easier technique could impression your possibilities of success, however I’ve truthfully by no means had one fail on me but.
From Potted Vegetation or Transplants
Simply as rooting cuttings couldn’t be simpler, neither might planting a potted weeping willow.
Within the spring or fall, as long as you’ve discovered the precise spot, far, far-off from irrigation or sewage strains, dig a gap about the identical measurement because the rising container.
Don’t fear about digging a bigger gap and backfilling it with amended soil, as you usually do with different species. The roots of willows want no further encouragement.
In reality, as soon as your plant is within the floor, it ought to take off pretty rapidly. No sleep, creep, leap for weeping willow bushes.
Maintain the soil moist as your weeping willow establishes itself. For no less than the primary 12 months, water any time the highest inch of soil dries out.
After the primary 12 months, enable the highest few inches to dry out earlier than watering till the tree has been within the floor for 5 years. Then, water as described beneath.
Develop Weeping Willows
Given no less than 4 hours of daylight per day, you may anticipate your weeping willow to develop as much as two ft per 12 months till it reaches its mature peak of 40 ft.
Some may even develop as much as 80 ft in preferrred situations. They usually develop as vast as they do tall, or simply barely much less vast.
These are thirsty bushes. They do greatest when positioned close to a physique of water that they will stretch their roots into.
I had one rising subsequent to my canal, and it was blissfully glad. I imply, it’s not for nothing that you simply usually see weeping willows rising subsequent to placid ponds.
They’ll tolerate quick durations of drought, however they will’t go lengthy with out heavy, common moisture.
If you happen to stay in an arid space with out groundwater inside a dozen ft of the floor, until you’re keen to irrigate commonly and for a protracted whereas every time, don’t plant weeping willows.
A younger willow can be completely pleased with the water offered by means of a sprinkling system, however as they age, these roots begin on the lookout for a deeper, extra considerable supply of moisture.
Sprinklers simply received’t minimize it until you water lengthy sufficient that the moisture reaches a number of ft down. That a lot moisture will possible drown your garden.
After they don’t obtain the water they want, they resort to taking issues into their very own fingers.
Willows have notoriously harmful roots and so they can unfold twice as vast as the cover. I’m wondering what number of septic strains have been breached by thirsty bushes.
My brother, who’s a plumber, says that he assumes when somebody has a willow of their yard that’s anyplace close to sewer, water provide, or irrigation, they’ll have a breach someplace.
Plant them far-off from swimming pools, irrigation strains, sewage strains, water provides, wells, and septic methods.
In case your tree doesn’t handle to discover a water supply close by and also you don’t present irrigation, it can drop its leaves.
However, in case you have an space the place moisture swimming pools commonly, this tree will soak it up like a champ.
As we talked about, younger weeping willows want constant moisture. The soil ought to really feel like a sponge that you simply’ve wrung out completely over the sink.
As soon as it turns into established after 5 years or so, you may enable the highest three or 4 inches of soil to dry out earlier than you irrigate.
While you water, make certain it’s lengthy and deep moderately than on the floor with the intention to encourage deep root development.
In search of water isn’t the one purpose to be good about the place you plant these bushes. The roots may also elevate out of the soil, cracking sidewalks, lifting driveways, and making mowing an annoying chore.
Don’t even take into consideration planting one subsequent to a driveway or sidewalk.
As if all that weren’t sufficient, weeping willows may be extraordinarily messy. As we talked about, they develop quick, as much as 4 ft a 12 months, however the wooden that grows is weak. That weak wooden extends to the weeping branches, which might drop by the handfuls in a storm.
As beautiful as it’s, this actually is a tree for a distant spot close to a river or lake the place it may well unfold out with out turning into a nuisance.
If you happen to’re picturing a weeping willow in your tiny yard subsequent to your patio, you would possibly wish to regulate that image to incorporate a weeping Japanese maple or a redbud as an alternative.
These bushes choose barely acidic soil, although they aren’t fussy. Something from 4.0 to eight.0 is ok. They’ll additionally tolerate barely sandy or barely clay soil, although loam is most well-liked.
As soon as the tree has matured, it doesn’t want feeding. Younger weeping willows profit from a light, tree formulated fertilizer. Apply it within the spring after the catkins have light.
Any deciduous tree fertilizer will work, however I’m all the time singing the praises of the fertilizers made by All the way down to Earth. They’re all pure and are available compostable containers.
All the way down to Earth Tree & Shrub Fertilizer
Their Tree & Shrub combine additionally accommodates mycorrhizal fungi to assist the tree set up a wholesome root system. Seize 5 or 25 kilos at Arbico Organics.
Rising Suggestions
- Plant away from swimming pools, sewage strains, and water provides.
- Maintain soil moist whereas bushes are younger.
- Plant in a fan of full solar.
Pruning and Upkeep
As we talked about, one of many downsides to all that quick development is that the branches are typically weak. Ice, wind, and heavy snow will commonly take a toll on this tree.
You’ll need to get in there with a tree pruner and minimize any damaged branches again to the stem or trunk.
You also needs to prune commonly to keep up the tree and stop breakage.
In late winter or early spring, choose up these clear pruners or a noticed. Take away something that’s useless, dying, diseased, or damaged, making your cuts beneath the injury.
Then, you may take away something you don’t just like the look of to additional form the tree, if you’d like.
You don’t need to prune an older specimen, however it may well present some form and definition when you really feel that it has gotten a bit out of hand.
Younger weeping willows must be pruned to keep up a central chief. They often prefer to department out and develop a number of trunks, but when they do, they’ll be susceptible to breakage on the crotches. Sadly, that occurred to one among my bushes.
One brutal winter, the burden proved to be an excessive amount of for my tree and it broke on the joint between two of the three foremost branches.
Fortunately, it survived after we formed it again up, but it surely was a shadow of its former self. Or moderately, a lopsided specimen of its former self – it was extra of a half circle than a rounded umbrella.
These bushes lend themselves to pollarding if that’s one thing you’re enthusiastic about. Pollarding is the follow of reducing the primary branches again in order that they lengthen simply barely out of the trunk.
Pollarding is not topping. Topping is reducing many of the cover again to the trunk. Pollarding requires extra finesse and shaping.
Don’t give in to the temptation to high these bushes. I do know it looks like a simple solution to cut back their measurement and regenerate development, but it surely weakens the tree general.
If you happen to pollard, know that your tree will ship up every kind of recent sprouts, in order that they received’t keep that basic pollarded search for lengthy.
Weeping Willow Cultivars to Choose
If you happen to dream of getting a weeping willow however fear about its unhealthy status in terms of illness points, you would possibly take into account a plant within the Sepulcralis group.
These are hybrids of S. babylonica and S. alba, and they’re extra chilly tolerant than the S. babylonica species.
S. × sepulcralis ‘Chrysocoma’ is without doubt one of the hottest weeping willows on the market.
More often than not, you’ll discover vegetation described because the species (till scientists agree on a brand new classification) on the market until you try specialty nurseries.
For example, you may choose up a stay species weeping willow that’s 5 to 6 or six to seven ft tall at Quick Rising Timber.
On the subject of discovering true S. babylonica cultivars, it’s the Wild West on the market.
There are various which can be described as a babylonica cultivar, however consultants consider they is perhaps higher categorised as a distinct species, as we mentioned above.
The next are at present believed to be true S. babylonica cultivars or varieties:
Aurea
‘Aurea’ appears in all methods just like the species besides the younger wooden of the weeping branches is sensible yellow. It grows to the identical peak with the identical measurement and shade of foliage.
Crispa
This cultivar is without doubt one of the most attention-grabbing ones on the market, in my view. The silver and inexperienced leaves curl round in a circle, giving them a definite resemblance to a ram’s horns.
The tree will in the end get hold of the acquainted rounded form, but it surely begins out upright earlier than gently weeping. When totally grown, it reaches a peak of about 40 ft.
Corkscrew
Corkscrew willows, S. babylonica var. matsudana ‘Tortuosa,’ are smaller than the species, hardly ever rising taller than about 30 ft.
The title comes from the twisting, contorted stems that look stunning tucked right into a floral association or on their very own in a vase.
Golden Curls
Launched in 1976 by Charles Beardsley of Geneva, Ohio, ‘Golden Curls’ has golden-green leaves with a rippling margin on yellow branches that transition to bronze as they age.
It grows to about 30 ft tall when mature and, like the remainder of its weeping pals, it’s a quick grower.
Scarlet Curls
Beforehand categorised as S. matsudana, this babylonica cultivar is called for its wooden, which has a purple hue when younger.
Because it ages, the wooden matures to the acquainted grey, whereas the spiraling stems retain their scarlet hue till they age right into a vibrant yellow.
The leaves have wavy, curled edges, including yet one more component of curiosity. If you happen to like taking willow department cuttings for show within the dwelling, this one must be on the high of your checklist.
Managing Pests and Illness
Weeping willows don’t stay for a very long time. That’s a part of the rationale why they’ve a status in some areas for being susceptible to issues.
The reality is, when you get 70 years out of yours, you probably did exceptionally properly. One thing extra like 30 to 50 years is extra typical. That’s simply their ordinary lifespan.
Youthful vegetation could also be affected by pests or illness if they start to look sickly.
Earlier than we discover the numerous bugs and illness points that may strike your weeping willows, let’s have a look at one other potential drawback: deer.
Deer
Deer received’t hesitate to seize a chew of willow as they go by means of your yard. Left unchecked, they will kill a younger tree.
Each time I attempted to start out a younger tree in an space the place deer had been frequent guests, it will vanish after per week or two, a tragic stump the one factor left behind.
I lastly gave in and guarded my children.
Encompass younger bushes with a fence till they’re massive sufficient to resist searching. Don’t fear, it doesn’t take too lengthy. Most bushes are large enough to carry their very own in about 5 years. Our information has extra tips about deterring deer.
Bugs
Bugs should not normally the first concern when rising weeping willows. They’ll trigger some injury to younger bushes, however older bushes normally climate an infestation simply high-quality.
Whereas they don’t trigger any actual injury, willows are a main host of spongy moths (Lymantria dispar dispar), which you don’t need round. They’re additionally a favourite of fall webworms, which received’t hurt the tree, however may be ugly.
Aphids
Large willow aphids (Tuberolachnus salignus) are extraordinarily frequent, and the injury they trigger ranges from no huge deal to devastating.
If you happen to’ve seen aphids earlier than, these are comparable, however larger, as much as six millimeters in size. In addition they have a row of spots and a raised cone on their backs.
That raised cone appears lots like a shark fin, which is why we name them shark aphids. And as with sharks, when you see one shifting down the branches of your tree, the theme from “Jaws” ought to definitely begin enjoying in your head.
They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on the younger development of the tree, and so they can cluster in big teams of 1000’s of people. As you may think, that may trigger a whole lot of injury, stunting development and killing branches.
They usually begin their exercise within the warmth of the summer season. The females reproduce asexually, also referred to as parthenogenetically. Every one can produce 30 nymphs at a time, and so they have a number of batches annually.
They stick round all through the winter, impervious to chilly temperatures, once they start the cycle once more.
Parasitic wasps, ladybugs, hoverfly maggots, and lacewings will all feed on these pests, which may help maintain the state of affairs below management once they’re lively. However because the climate turns, the aphids are left unchecked.
To assist the helpful insect predators out, use insecticidal cleaning soap each different week for so long as you see the pests.
You in all probability received’t be capable to attain all components of the tree, however as long as you retain overlaying as a lot as you may, populations can be saved below management sufficient to not hurt your willow.
Borers
Cottonwood borers (Plectrodera scalator) and carpenter worms (Prionoxystus robiniae) bore by means of the bark and wooden of the bushes, inflicting scarring and girdling of smaller branches.
The very first thing most individuals discover when both of those borers are current is frass. That’s the excrement together with the sawdust that the pest leaves behind because it tunnels into the tree.
You may also discover darkish sap spots and holes within the trunk.
You would possibly be capable to spot the adults, a beetle within the case of cottonwood borers and a moth within the case of carpenter worms, but it surely’s the larvae that do all of the injury.
Carpenter worms can develop as much as three inches lengthy and cottonwood borers about half that.
Wholesome bushes can normally stand up to some injury, although it does depart the tree open to illness. Nonetheless, you don’t need these pests hanging out.
There are two issues to do with the intention to eliminate them:
First, spray your tree with an insecticide to kill the adults in order that no new larvae are hatching. Then, seize your self some helpful nematodes. Both Steinernema feltiae or S. carpocapsae (or each) will do.
Combine the nematodes with water. Sometimes, you need a million nematodes per gallon. Put the nematode water in a squeeze bottle or oilcan. Something that has a small nozzle and means that you can squeeze out the water will work.
Then, filter every gap of any particles and squeeze the water into the holes till it begins coming again out of the opening or out a close-by entrance. Seal the holes up with putty or wax. Do that till all of the holes you may attain are stuffed.
You would possibly want to do that just a few instances earlier than all of the larvae can be gone. If that’s the case, wait two weeks between therapies. You’ll know they’re nonetheless there if a gap you sealed has been popped open.
It’s superb how efficient helpful nematodes may be. If you happen to don’t have already got some in your gardening toolkit, seize 5, ten, 50, 250, or 500 million at Arbico Organics.
Scale
There are many scale bugs that feed on willows, together with grasping (Hemiberlesia rapax), latania (Hemiberlesia lataniae), oystershell (Lepidosaphes ulmi), San Jose (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus), brown (Coccus hesperidum), and cottony maple scale (Pulvinaria innumerabilis).
Whatever the sort, they feed on willows with their piercing-sucking mouthparts, draining the sap from the plant. They don’t usually trigger a whole lot of issues on a mature weeping willow, however they will hurt younger bushes.
These don’t appear like your typical pests. Clustering on younger branches, they have a tendency to appear like a lumpy, bumpy symptom of illness as an alternative, since they don’t transfer a lot.
Go to our information to learn to determine and management them scale, however notice that management isn’t all the time crucial.
Until your tree has yellowing leaves and isn’t rising as rapidly as you anticipate, you would possibly simply tolerate them.
Illness
Weeping willows have a status for being inclined to illness issues, and this isn’t completely undeserved.
There are just a few ailments that may positively wreak havoc together with your bushes, and a few of them are distressingly frequent.
Thankfully, this tree is proof against the willow scourge, black canker, attributable to Botryosphaeria dothidea and Physalospora miyabeana fungi (syn. Glomerella miyabeana). It’s additionally proof against verticillium.
Powdery mildew may cause a white coating to type on the leaves, but it surely’s by no means a large enough deal to warrant therapy. However these illnesses would possibly trigger extra of an issue:
Anthracnose
Anthracnose is attributable to a kind of pathogens that simply loves good and funky, moist climate. If you happen to usually expertise this within the spring or you could have a very moist, chilly spring one 12 months, anthracnose is probably going not far-off.
The fungus Marssonina salicicola initially causes purplish-brown spots on the leaves, normally alongside the veins. These can merge collectively as they develop, inflicting the foliage to drop. Sometimes, the outer leaves will stay whereas the inside leaves drop like flies.
Sooner or later your tree is filling out, beginning to look lush and full, and the following, the crown begins to look awfully skinny.
As issues worsen, new shoots begin dying and cankers begin to develop on the twigs and branches. These would possibly die again as properly.
Step one is to prune off all symptomatic branches. I do know, that may imply your tree will appear like it received fairly the haircut. Don’t fear, willows are good at rising again larger and higher than earlier than.
Then, spray your tree each two weeks till the climate turns heat and dry. There are many merchandise that you should use to kill the fungus that causes this illness.
Copper and sulfur sprays work properly. So does a product known as Mycostop, which harnesses the facility of a sort of micro organism present in sphagnum moss to kill unhealthy pathogens.
I exploit it to deal with just about each fungal illness that comes my manner and it hasn’t dissatisfied me but.
Mycosop is obtainable at Arbico Organics in five- or 25-gram packets. I’ll warning you that when you open the packet, it’s good to use the product up rapidly. It doesn’t retailer properly.
Spray your tree the second you see signs and maintain at it till that summer season climate kicks in.
Blight or Scab
Blight, also referred to as scab, is pretty frequent within the japanese US and components of the Pacific Northwest, and it’s simple to determine.
The fungus Venturia saliciperda infects bushes throughout moist spring climate. As soon as it does, the younger twigs and leaves will develop darkish brown blotches. The information of the twigs will die again because the fungus enters the petioles.
Later, the blotches will develop a lighter brown spore coating and the contaminated leaves will drop from the tree.
Weeping willows aren’t as inclined to this illness as different Salix species, however that doesn’t imply it may well’t occur.
If you happen to catch it within the first 12 months, it’s simple to deal with and assist your tree to get better. But when it’s allowed to contaminate your tree for a number of years, this weakens the tree, inviting different fungi like people who trigger black canker, which doesn’t normally impression weeping willows.
An infection additionally leaves the tree open to pest injury and drought stress.
Therapy entails spraying the tree each two weeks, starting when the leaves bud out and persevering with for 2 months.
Preventative therapy and therapy simply because the spores are growing is essential.
Use a product like Serenade ASO, which is a biofungicide that makes use of Bacillus subtilis pressure QST 713, to guard your vegetation. Apply it each to the foliage and to the soil.
Arbico Organics carries Serenade ASO in 2.5-gallon containers.
Along with or as an alternative of this, it’s also possible to use a product that accommodates citric acid, which is able to kill the fungi on contact moderately than making a protecting barrier, as B. subtilis does.
It is best to wait till the primary product dries earlier than making use of the second, however you may apply them on the identical day.
Arbico Organics carries a product known as Procidic, which accommodates citric acid. It’s obtainable in 32-ounce prepared to make use of bottles, in addition to 16-ounce or gallon-size focus.
Crown Gall
Crown gall, attributable to the micro organism Rhizobium radiobacter, is a standard drawback on willows.
It causes tumor-like growths that restrict the motion of water by means of the tree. This leads to stunted development, yellowing leaves, and dying shoots.
If a tumor grows on the trunk or foremost stems, it may well kill the tree.
The micro organism usually enters by means of wounds within the wooden, even from one thing as small as a gap left by a borer.
A longtime tree would possibly look somewhat funky right here and there attributable to crown gall, however these may be left within the panorama. Younger bushes, nonetheless, must be eliminated. There isn’t any identified remedy as soon as a tree is contaminated.
If you must pull a tree, don’t plant anything there that’s inclined to crown gall for no less than three years.
Leaf Spot
Because the title suggests, this illness causes the leaves to type irregular brown spots. These spots normally have feathered, purple margins. Because the illness progresses, the leaves flip yellow and drop from the tree.
Pseudocercospora salicina causes this illness. Left unchecked and in the precise surroundings, the fungus will trigger branches to die.
Seize any of the identical fungicides described to deal with anthracnose above, like copper or sulfur, or one other broad fungicide, and get to work the second you see spots.
Spray your tree as soon as each two weeks till new foliage emerges and stays symptom free.
Greatest Makes use of of Weeping Willows
This isn’t a tree for planting subsequent to your small patio or deck. However you may’t discover a higher specimen for filling in a big space, particularly in case you have a physique of water close by.
If you happen to love the look of a residing fence, there isn’t any higher species than a willow, weeping or in any other case. They’re additionally unimaginable when used for bonsai and so they develop rapidly so you may benefit from the outcomes earlier than you may with different species.
Weeping willows are additionally invaluable when you like to make use of cuttings to embellish your private home.
A big vase on the bottom crammed with six-foot-tall corkscrew branches makes an enormous assertion. Or snag among the budding branches within the spring for an early show.
Lots of people plant weeping willows in the midst of a stretch of garden, and that’s definitely a fairly choice.
I feel in addition they look stunning with shade-loving vegetation grouped beneath. Assume issues like hosta, vinca, astilbe, and ferns.
Fast Reference Rising Information
| Plant Sort: | Deciduous tree | Flower/Foliage Colour: | Cream, yellow/inexperienced |
| Native to: | China | Upkeep: | Low |
| Hardiness (USDA Zones): | 5-9 | Tolerance: | Some drought |
| Bloom Time/Season: | Spring blossoms | Soil Sort: | Reasonably sandy, loamy, reasonably clay |
| Publicity: | Keen on full solar | Soil pH: | 4.0-8.0 |
| Time to Maturity: | As much as 20 years | Soil Drainage: | Reasonably well-draining |
| Spacing: | 20 ft | Attracts: | Andrena miner bees; mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis), and viceroy (Limenitis archippus) butterflies |
| Planting Depth: | Depth of rising container (transplants) | Companion Planting: | Astilbe, hostas, ferns, vinca |
| Top: | As much as 80 ft | Keep away from Planting With: | Solar-loving vegetation |
| Unfold: | As much as 80 ft | Makes use of: | Bonsai, specimen |
| Progress Fee: | Quick | Household: | Salicaceae |
| Water Wants: | Reasonable | Genus: | Salix |
| Frequent Pests and Illness: | Deer; aphids, borers, scale; Anthracnose, blight, crown gall, leaf spot, powdery mildew | Species: | Babylonica |
Make Your Backyard right into a Fairytale
Regardless of their unhealthy status, I can completely perceive why individuals would need one among these magnificent bushes.
They’re fully in contrast to anything. It’s no marvel the weeping willow figures so closely in our lore and our collective creativeness.
What’s your first reminiscence of one among these bushes? Was it from a Tolkien e book? The Disney “Pocahontas” film?
I’d love to listen to about the way you fell in love with these bushes within the feedback. And in case you have any questions on caring in your tree, put them within the feedback, too.
Wish to add another panorama bushes to your backyard? Learn these guides subsequent:
