Why did the leaves fall off, I wonder? Did you put it in shade for a week or so after re-potting? Or right back into the sun? Was it indoors in a warm, dry environment? When you say 'chop,' what do you mean? Are you going to get rid of all the pendulous grafted material on top? Josh

I've been told it is known as rust. ===>>>> unless it was by a professional ... after 'seeing' the problem.. that diagnosis is not good enough for me to advise you ... and i suspect.. if it were a pro.. they would of told you how to fix it ... come on.. fess up.. was this some old wive??? ... as in old wives tale??? lol ... how about a pic.. and then we might help you get a real diagnosis ... and then perhaps a remedy .. ken

That's what I thought too, that willows were impossible to overwater. However, after having planted many willows, lots of varieties, some in creeklets, I've seen that some don't do well with too much water. They get black spots in stems that wither and die. Also, a branch will curl down pendulous almost making a loop and die. Or the leaves will turn yellow. This past spring the late hard freeze really hurt the curly willows here. Going to have a heck of a pruning job with lots of dead wood to excise. What type of willow is in Sharon's pictures? My favorite willow so far is the Prairie Cascade because its branches are so bright golden, its leaves big and lustrous, and it is growing so fast and strong. Have a violet willow that's pretty, several curlies. 2 chermesina's that almost bit the dust but might make it, a laurel willow that might be nice, 3 babylonicas that are picking up growth speed, rosemary, dappled, arctic blue with smithiana suckers going ape, etc etc etc None so far have been totally impervious to heavy water loads, which has surprised me. I've got a seasonal swamp yard and the one tree type that seems to handle the most water the happiest is the sweetgums. My oldest plantings are only 1 year 9 months in the ground so maybe when they get more established all the water and weather fluctuations won't be so noticeable to them. I planted way too many trees in too small a yard so will have to prune so they can all reach for the sun. There will definitely be height competition to get those rays in a couple years! Oh, have 3 bald cypress in a pond that runs dry in summer so have to water them; they never seem to get too much water.

Sorry for the sideways pics. Phone was portrait and they were portrait when I saw on the computer screen then turned sideways when I uploaded them here. I will go back to the Test Forum and try to do better next time. As for size-there are others in our area that were planted near the same time and those trees are huge maybe not 25' but really really tall. The stakes are there trying to train branches to grow on the north side of the tree. It did work. I've tried the "just let it grow" method and this is what I've ended up with so taking DZITMOIDONC's queue I went ahead and pruned the thing. Figured it wasn't doing good thus far so anything would be better. Just as I suspected all the weight of the long whips were keeping the branches from growing up and out. After pruning of course they sprung up and the tree became 2 feet taller and 3' wider! I guess not the right time of year but I couldn't stand it. I'm going to use the thickest cuttings and plant another nearby. Again, wrong time of year but our weather should be beautiful for the next 3 months and hopefully it will work. I thought you were supposed to plant trees in the fall. ?? I truly appreciate all of the advice and comments.