Hi there, I have a few houseplants I'd like to trade for used Detective magazines from 2003 up to now or true crime books. Would you happen to have any or can you get some? If I don't find a trader by Sept. would you be interested in sending postage for them? I prefer to try to find a trade for books first. Rosie

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.

A few thoughts here, as I have three gigantic dappled willows and loads of experience with them. I wonder why there is no white dappled on the leaves, too. That's a willow, but keep an eye on it come springtime. It should put out new growth that's green, white and pink. But in one of my photos, the foliage is all green, so yeah...there is a point in the season where they're pretty generic looking. Your plant is fine. Cut off the dead. And then TRANSPLANT it further away from the foundation. You cannot imagine how big they get. Take it out ten feet if you can, I am not kidding. For example, my three were the same size as yours when I bought them at a plant sale five years ago. They got crispy and brown in the containers when I didn't plant them soon enough. They limped along for a season. Now I have this in the spring. And THAT was cut back by at least four feet before it leafed out. I have them cut back by 4-5 feet every spring. They easily grow to 10-ft across while you're not looking. You really must move it and it must have room to spread or you will constantly be hacking away at it. Here is another one, seen at the right in the photo. I had sawed this one down to the ground a year earlier. Note that it's green. The dappled color comes about amonth later in spring: See my point?

Willows take a lot of water - I lost my first 'Hakuro Nishiki' because I had it on the same watering system as the plants around it and it simply needed more (I sited the second one differently!) Also, when plants are stressed (too much or too little water, for example), they generally drop the older leaves first, as they turn from assets to liabilities. Make sure that as you water going forward, you follow jean001a's advice. Once the root system develops watering will be less of an issue, as the roots are aggressive and will seek water where they can find it. They are gorgeous plants once you get them going, although you may have to really take yours in hand to make sure that it stays small enough for its space. Mine is only two years old and is at least 6' across, 4' high.