Q.Can we save our weeping pussywillow?
It has several dead leaves but the branches are still soft. We pruned it severely in the spring this year after an enormously wet winter. Now it is covered in dead leaves. We’ve had it 18 years and would hate to lose it. It gets water every other day. We also had a late frost in mid May which is highly unusual for our area.
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
It could be canker disease, giant willow aphid, or just stress from all those things that happened to it this year. Watering every other day sounds like a lot to me. Is that what you normally do or is it in response to the dieback? If so, I would cut back to your normal watering regime.
You may want to call your local extension agent and see if others are experiencing dieback on their pussy willows because of an environmental issue.
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/willowblackcanker.pdf
