Its not important this time of year if something is eating the leaves of a
willow. Most of the trees available amount of food has been stored in the
form of starch in living parenchyma cells in the tree stem and woody roots.

Proper mulching, though not the question, is still not a bad idea for the
willow tree.
"When a tree is wounded, you should not treat only the wound but the entire
tree." Shigo 1999 Tree Pithy Points
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/PITHYPOINTS.html

Proper mulching can greatly influence the troubles in the rhisosphere in a
positive way.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

Also, thinking as I often do, there may be a chance this new property owner
may plant another tree. Or it might be of value to show what proper
planting consist of. Why? Because many tree problems that this willow may
have, may be the direct result of improper planting. Thus placing the tree
in a predisposition for secondary agents that get blamed for the decline of
the tree. I have seen it too many times. It is not a Penn. problem or is
it just a USA problem. If not the top, one of the most common tree problems
worldwide come from improper planting of the trees.

"Ignorance of tree biology has been, and still is, the major cause of tree
problems worldwide." Shigo 1999 Tree Pithy Points.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/PITHYPOINTS.html

Predisposition:
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/ARM.html

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.





"Scott Hildenbrand" wrote in message
...
symplastless wrote:
Sorry. That was a good question. The links I posted are designed to
help guide you with the care of your weeping willow. Any questions
please ask.
S


It was a good question. One that none of your links seem to address since
he didn't ask about planting, or mulching, nor fertilizing or pruning..

Well, maybe pruning but very indirectly..


At any rate, if you just moved in I'd say see how it fairs next year.
Without being able to identify the problem you could easily do more harm
than good.

Might be Japanese beetle.

Leaves look like this damage wise?

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort410/8010b.jpg

http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/inwood/ima...e%20beetle.jpg

Then again there is a willow leaf beetle, it seems.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...tals/2-58.jpeg


Anyway, my point is ID the problem first before doing any extensive
spraying. The tree will be fine with its leaves looking like swiss cheese.
Better to leave them on than to take the leaf off. After all, it's still a
functioning leaf.

Well, unless they look like this..

http://pbskids.org/backyardjungle/fi...iscovery_f.jpg


Now, if you can actually see what's munching on them, let us know what it
looks like.. Pictures help if you can get a good one via digital
camera.

Can just upload it to a free host and give the URL.

imageshack.com for example.

Just my two cents.. Good luck with IDing the problem!