Salix Kilmarnock
I bought a Salix Kilmarnock (Dawrf Weeping Willow) for my front garden this year. It has grown well however the branches are too long and are now growing along the floor. I would like to prune the plant to stop this happening. Please can someone offer some advice on this as I have never attempted it before
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By chance I was reading a blog about your very problem. It gave very comprehensive instructions on how to prune this shrub/tree when the branches start trailing on the ground.
Take a look at
Rachel-the-gardener.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you I will have a look at that.
Hi Lucy
I was the very proud owner of one of these trees. It was a mature specimen that was inherited when I moved into my current home and garden. It was so top heavy that a storm knocked it over and I discovered that it only seemed to be secured by a root on one side only (possibly the roots had not been teased out when it was planted) and I ended up having to remove it. It must have been 15 to 20 years old.
It was about two metres tall and I used to get in under the "umbrella" of branches and take out all the dead stuff underneath (like the opposite of pruning a rose bush into an upright bowl shape). Any long branches were trimmed to just above ground level if they got a little bit too long. My late cat used to sit beneath it so I kept it long although I have seen them trimmed sorter (like they were wearing a mini skirt). At one time I thought I had lost it as I had to rent my house due to personal circumstances and when I returned the whole tree was covered in bindweed. I was in total panic and tore down all the bindweed to allow light in and there were only two or three branches with any leaves. Luckily it recovered to live another five years. I have never looked after a "baby" one but they seem like pretty robust trees, so I would go ahead and give it a trim to mini, midi or maxi length (gosh that show my age) and then you might encourage more growth to get your own little "umbrella" all round.
Hope this helps.
These things are grafted to the top of a willow stock stem and roots. They do not grow taller but their branches do get longer. Yours looks so short you should consider planting it in a pot on a pedestal or you'll be forever shortening the stems.
In my experience, these things are short lived and very thirsty so don't let it go dry.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw