hey batgirl.. hows robin??? newbie huh??? ... many posts.. many worries ... gardening is supposed to be relaxing.. and you seem to be worrying to death ... if all your plants have a guarantee.. just freakin relax ... OK?? now.. yanking anything from a pot.. and sticking it in the ground .. disturbs its ability to pump water, because you messed with its roots ... make sense so far ... there is only one reaction .. it sacrifices leaves ... to which it could not pump enough water [especially if there was a heat wave immediately after planting] ... with me ... and here is the part you need to understand ... BEFORE YOU GO INSANE ... >>>>THIS IS NORMAL ... all the life in the plants.. are in the growth tips.. and even if it loses/sacrifices every single leaf.. if that growth tip thrives.. the plant will recover ... though it might look ugly for a while ... so just relax ... now.. could you have avoided this.. yes ... probably ... with the following: proper planting .... proper timing... a few weeks earlier would have made this all done when the plant had fewer leaves .. and the weather was cooler... leading to less problems pumping water ... proper mulching.. and proper watering ... if you read thru a few pages of back posts.. you ought to see many.. many posts about how to do it better ... and would be a great start to increasing your knowledge base ... but when all is said and done.. its nearly foolproof ... and me thinks you simply worry too much ... many say .. that you are not a true gardener.. until you have killed every plant in your garden 3 times.. and trust me... all of us have ... [and many years from now... like many of us.. you will wonder why you were so enthralled with a pussy willow.. lol] ... have a bat beer.. and relax.. odds are .. they will all recover.. the only issue is whether you will be certifiable before it happens... lol good luck .. we need more gardeners.. ken

Lisa - is that spot with the brown in the direct line of the prevailing winds? I noticed when I had one that those parts that were constantly exposed to the wind and being whipped around in it would have the leaves shred and dessicate and eventually turn brown and fall off. The stems would eventually releaf, but otherwise I could see how that was stressing it. Alternately, if something has happened to the root system, then the water pathways to those branches may have shut down causing the brown-out. They are pretty forgiving and if you wait (and as long as the stems are green), it could releaf. But do realize that like other willows, they like alot of moisture and lack of it can cause the crispy leaves on them too.

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.

I hate to dredge up an old thread but I am having the same problem with my dappled willow. One half of it has turned brown and looks like it is dying. Actually I think it is dead. The other half if fine. This started last year and I thought it would recover, but no. I cut off all the dead branches and now have a weird looking half tree that looks healthy. The tree is in the middle of the yard. My only guess is maybe salt from shoveling the sidewalk, that gets piled near one side of the tree and not the other. But I would think salt in the soil would kill a whole plant not just kill half of it? There are lots of shoots coming from the trunk. I suppose I could start over rooting a new tree.