in general ... on a properly cared for.. recent transplant. ... WILLOW ..... i doubt you can kill it ...

unless it is some false willow .. i dont have time to google it ...

cage it ... and i would bet a buck they will be fine ... presuming they are not grafted.. and cut below the graft.. and since most willow will grow from a stick stuck in the ground... i bet yours isnt grafted ...

cage it ... in 2 to 4 weeks.. you ought to see bud swelling ... in z5 ...

ken

Deer will also LOVE the Euonymus (Burning bush)

I would fence it now. If it does comeback, bush should have great color in the new branches. The rabbits didn't bother mine either until spring. I guess the bark tastes good then. However you can't trust rabbits, they chew when they feel like it, so I put my fence on mine in late fall. I keep it fenced from fall until leaves start sprouting.

These bushes need an annual shearing of the thin branches each spring. If you do not shear them, you just get green leaves on the old growth wood. I was being nice the first year after planting, didn't shear it off. The whole year was a big nothing for color. I got real unhappy with it, sheared it strongly the next spring after.

Bush came back strongly, had white leaves, good color until August. Located in a damp location, which willows like. Half day of shade so the white is very bright there, which is what I was hoping for against the dark green behind it.

Again, I get the twiggy growth trimmed off each spring, before leaves start opening. Shrub easily replaces the old growth in size and keeps the light leaves long into the summer season. I keep mine about 5ft high. Not trimming any pencil size or above, branches unless they grow and rub each other. Fence comes off after grass starts growing.

Caging is the best protection against rabbits but can be unsightly. Rabbits smell their food before eating. With this is mind, you can make a homemade repellent that will need to be reapplied every 3-4 weeks or after being washed off by rain or sprinklers. If hungry, rabbits will hold their nose and eat anything. Use the search box at the top of any page entering 'rabbit repellent.' I have used the stuff successfully.

Thanks everyone. I caged them this weekend but I'm not too hopeful. They look so gray and brittle. Poor little guys.

Hi,
Last winter, I left one in a pot. I never got around to planting it. Then the rabbits came along and ate all the stems off. Well, the thing began to grow once temps started to warm. I then left the willow in a pot until late July since I was building a new flower bed once my deck got made. It survived all that abuse and by fall looked pretty darn nice!
Remy

I just planted a dappled willow in the middle of June and now the leaves are falling off and it's lost most color. Can I bring it back now?.....or have to wait to prune in the winter?
Thanks for any help anyone can give.