Willow cutting

Zournathan

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I took several willow cuttings from a tree at my parents house a little over a month ago and rooted them in the bucket of water. I potted two of the willow sticks that I thought had the most potential and they both seemed to be doing well. Now many of the older leaves are wilting, but it's putting out lots of new growth near the bottom. Is it possible that due to the small amount of roots that it isn't getting getting enough water to send it all the way to the leaves at the end of the longer branches? Is there anything I can/should do other then continuing to keep a an eye on the moisture in soil? I tend to keep the two willows much wetter then my other trees, based on the fact that I know they can grow just fine in my dad's pond and the two still in the bucket are still doing fine.

Thanks,
Nathan
 

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Zournathan

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The fertilizer I used is Expert Gardener Colorcote All-Purpose Slow Release Plant Food. It's what I've been using on all my trees and the other willow, which was potted on the same day is doing just fine. It is a 19-6-12 fertilizer.
 
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digger714

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Willows have a natural rooting harmone that makes them almost impossible to kill. Just keep them moist, but not soaked until they root. They should do fine. Just take off the yellow leaves. Ive been told that if you start them in water, they have to more or less start over with new roots when put in the ground, so its probably just making the transition. You can just put a branch in the ground, and it will start growing as long as it is kept moist. Good luck.
 
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Zournathan

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Willows have a natural rooting harmone that makes them almost impossible to kill. Just keep them moist, but not soaked until they root. They should do fine. Just take off the yellow leaves. Ive been told that if you start them in water, they have to more or less start over with new roots when put in the ground, so its probably just making the transition. You can just put a branch in the ground, and it will start growing as long as it is kept moist. Good luck.

Hmmm...that's interesting. I never would have expected that starting them in a bucket of water would actually set set them back. I figured if anything it would give them a jump start. I'll clip off the dead leaves when I get home if it's not raining.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Also, as an FYI before you get too much time invested in a willow; they just don't make great bonsai, and almost never weep on their own, since the shoots don't get heavy enough to turn down. I found I was always wiring mine to have any kind of appeal...which took a TON of wire, lots of time, and resulted in almost no progress. They remind me a little of a wisteria in growth rate and leaf/wood quality, only without the charm of blooming.

As an added "bonus", wire bites in quickly because they grow so hard, but they constantly throw off new shoots that grow straight up; undermining all attempts to get it to weep.

It stinks, because I like willows...but have come to the conclusion that bonsai or not, they belong in a yard...preferably someone else's :D
 

Zournathan

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All the willows I've ever seen have been very tall, skinny, and contorted into a poor copy of their natural weeping nature. I'm planning on keeping this one very small and have no plans to try to make the branches "weep". I'm planning to use the "weeping" of the leaves to capture a willows weeping tendency in a somewhat abstract way. If I manage not to kill the darn thing in the next 5 years I should be able to find out if it works as well in real life as it does in my minds eye :p
 

Zournathan

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R.I.P.

This tree was on the rebound, had lost all of it's adult sized leaves but was putting on loads of new growth at the base where I really wanted it, when the squirrels decided to dig all of the dirt out of it's pot three times in two days. This was more then it could handle. Of all the willow cuttings I got from my parents house this one seemed the most promising to me, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Luckily the squirrels only dug a little in my other plants (not sure what was so special about this one) so everything else is surviving well.
 

Bill S

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Let me introduce you to my little friend.
 

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Zournathan

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My wife already told me I'm not allowed to get a pellet gun for squirrel shooting purposes. She also yells at me when I see them crossing the road and speed up :mad:.
 
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