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Dappled willow leaves turning brown. Should I be concerned?

3 years ago

I purchased and planted this dappled willow in early May. There were a couple frosts and freezes not long after, but we had it protected and there was no immediate damage. It seems to have been thriving quite well in the weeks since. Yesterday, though, I noticed many of the new growth is turning brown. We did have a week of very hot, humid, rainy weather about 3 weeks back.

It is in clay soil that gets light but consistent run-off from our neighbor's vegetable garden. It's a boggy area, although well-drained, which is why I chose it for that area. It gets full sun from the east til about noon or so and sun from the west starting around 3 til 6 or 7pm.

Should I be concerned about the browning or is this likely a delayed response to transplant > freeze > heat/rain? (Ken, before you say it, I know: you can't kill willows and if it's alive you're doing fine, lol. ;-) I just want to make sure there's nothing I should be doing.)

Comments (4)

DCF-Z6A
Original Author
3 years ago
If it helps, this is a collage pic of the day of planting, 3 weeks later (top right) and today.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
(Ken, before you say it, I know: you can't kill willows and if it's alive you're doing fine, lol. ;-)

===>>>>

lol ....

light frost .. can cause minor damage.. that doesnt appear for days .. especially if nights are very cool .. or until a heat wave .. hence the term light.. and minor ...

so a little leaf browning is NBD ....

transplant shock. or stress is MINOR ... if it doesnt show up for days or weeks .. or until heat wave ...

so which is the cause.. how the heck do i know ...

one is leaf damage from lack of water due to interfering with the roots at planting .. and the other is leaf damage from cold ... one ting for sure.. white tissue is the easiest to harm ...

all that said .. based on new growth.. the only thing that seems currently stressed is you .. take a chill pill ... as you note.. its a darn willow .. lol ...

btw: i always wanted to see if i could root cuttings off one of these ... since willow generally roots easily and fast ... and since soon enough.. you will probably be beating it back with a truck ... maybe you can try to do it with some of your prunings.. just to find out ... and i doubt you can over water a willow ....

other than proper watering .. and i doubt you can over water a willow .... i dont see what if anything you need to be doing.. beside the noted self medicating.. lol ...

ken
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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.
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Fire blight effects members of the rose family only, not willows.There are, however, other, similar blights that can infect willows. It is rather late in the growing season for them to appear, though. Bacterial infections like these are generally spring diseases which make their presence known soon after the leaves begin to expand. Before attempting any treatment, you need to have a positive identification of the problem from your county extension service, state agriculture department, etc. It is also entirely possible that no disease is present and that the symptoms indicate a need for more water. The product you used is a spray. It is not intended to be used as a systemic root drench and will not have any effect used this way.
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In the second picture the tree appears skinnier at the base than higher up. Am I seeing this right? (Or is it just the camera angle?) That would suggest that the tree has been girdled and the top has died. Is the bark there wet from rain or is it discolored? If discolored, that could be a girdling canker. Also, is that black mark a hole in the trunk on the left near the bottom? If so, that would suggest a borer which may have girdled the tree. Either way, it doesn't look good for your willow. Hard to diagnose for sure without seeing it in person though.
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My concern is that the willows may become too much work to manage. -->>> i suppose it depends inf you are 20 1ish ... or 60ish .... willow is aggressive.. and will need one or two trimmings per year ... its not a plant i would want to have to prune at my age .. how about a pic of your spot.. and ask for suggestions other than those in the box you are already in ... i dont understand why you need a 10 foot hedge???? look here.. look for single non pruned plants.. frankly.. one will fit in your 8 by 10 spot .. do not fixate on the pix of many plants on an estate with a gang of 20 gardeners to prune them .. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Dappled+Willow&iax=images&ia=images ken
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DCF-Z6A
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks. Luckily I'm not stressing over it - just attempting to learn what is and isn't stress-worthy. But you don't have to twist my arm to imbibe in a self-medicatation session. ;-)

(Am definitely planning to attempting pruning transplants next spring - we have lots of area where these could help with erosion and cover! I'll post back and let you know!)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
do the research to find out what age cuttings you take ... and then ...

why not do it now.... you could take some cuttings this season.. and plant them in fall .. why wait ..

3 or 5 small cuttings.. arent going to harm your rather large plant ...

and i would put them all in one pot ...they can be separated if they live long enough ...

ken

ps: your a card on the imbibation .. lol.. is that a word???? .. omg,. it is.. but i spelled it wrong .. go figure: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=imbibation&ia=definition

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