The mention of twisted willows, in another thread, reminded me that I
had been meaning to ask your advice about my twisted willow.

Last summer it wasn't looking too happy, and this year it's looking
even more miserable. It's only got leaves on its top-knot, leaving
most of the tree in it's naked, winter state. It must be around 12-15
years old and it's about 12'-15' high.

Can anyone suggest what might be the problem?

I've put some photos of it up on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66407485@N00/sets/72157624001918969/.

--
Cheers, Serena

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along,
listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. (Winnie
the Pooh)

Hi Serena,

Did you get any advice on this - we have 2 in our garden that are exactly the same (although ours are only around 4 yrs old).Started last year but is a lot worse this year

Twisted Willow, sometimes described as Salix contorta, I think is really Salix babylonica var matsudana "Tortuosa"

It is a native to dry areas of north China, and has a number of problems in cultivation in many parts of Europe, which tends to result in it being short-lived here. In particular, (1) it is prone to damage in late frosts, such as we had this year. And (2) it also doesn't like the humidity, such as we had last year, resulting in it suffering a number of diseases including cankers and willow anthracnose. See Salix babylonica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My wife tells me it is commonly grown where she comes from, in eastern Moravia, which would seem to have a more suitable climate than here.

* renny07 wrote, On 16/07/2010 14:50:
Serena Blanchflower;888344 Wrote:
The mention of twisted willows, in another thread, reminded me that I
had been meaning to ask your advice about my twisted willow.

Last summer it wasn't looking too happy, and this year it's looking
even more miserable. It's only got leaves on its top-knot, leaving
most of the tree in it's naked, winter state. It must be around 12-15
years old and it's about 12'-15' high.

Can anyone suggest what might be the problem?

I've put some photos of it up on

'Twisted Willow - a set on Flickr' (http://tinyurl.com/386829u).

--
Cheers, Serena

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along,
listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. (Winnie
the Pooh)

Hi Serena,

Did you get any advice on this - we have 2 in our garden that are
exactly the same (although ours are only around 4 yrs old).Started last
year but is a lot worse this year

Hi,

It's interesting to hear that my tree isn't alone in its misery!

No, I haven't had any advice or suggestions about it. For what it's
worth, the current plan (unless I manage to get some informed advice
in the meantime) is to cut it back hard, to around half its current
height, this winter and to hope that it sprouts and regrows. This is
a slightly desperate measure but I get the feeling that I don't have
much to lose!

--
Cheers, Serena

Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before
breakfast. (Lewis Carroll)