weeping willow dying/sickness?

billythekid

Hello all, I come here because my weeping willow, seems to be dying. It was
doing good last year, not sure what it is, they are getting enough water.
They are loosing leaves at the top, and it looks as if the top of the tree is dying... One of the weeping willows is loosing its bark.

I have attached pictures, I hope I can save these 2 tree's they are the only
trees/plants that seemed to be affected, my lawn and all other bushes/flowers/tree's are not sick and are doing great.

Thanks in Advance...

Attached Thumbnails

   

billythekid

here is a shot of the bark...

Attached Thumbnails

 

Brent Ferris

It looks like someone or something hit the trunk hard and caused the bark separation. How far around the trunk does the loosened bark go. Detached bark interferes with the transport of water up the trunk.

And both your trees' tops suggest not enough water is reaching the top buds,. If you are watering enough, root strangulation is the most likely reason - this slows down or stops the roots from passing water onto the tree stem and top.
It is like your spouse making you a sumptuous meal, and you can't wait to dig in - there's only one problem, you can eat, but you can't swallow, So it is with root strangulation -- the roots can absorb the water and nutrients but they can't get past the restriction to nurture the top.

Weeping willow is a tough plant, once established. I suppose if you had a cold, rough winter, and the roots -- thru lack of snow cover -- froze, this could produce the same effect. But willows, once established can normally tolerate some very cold temperatures --unless you have a variety that only wants warm winters. Not aware of such a variety, especially since Canada has cold winters, Not much use for such a variety here.

billythekid

We did have a rough winter, lots of snow and ice. I didn't think about that, the
tree's where doing great last summer. Is there a way to save the tree with the
busted bark? Any kind of tree sap, or tar I can plug it with?


bill

Brent Ferris

Normally weeping willow suckers out, regrows and surpasses past problems. The broken bark will likely have suckers develop below (and perhaps around) the injury and keep on growing. THis epicormic growth breaks and shears easily, but if left long enough, will form a new tree and envelope its past problems. Suckers from the base tend to be stronger. If they develop, pick 1 or 2 or 3 stems you would like to see survive, cut out the others and wait and see how they grow. If you only want one stem, wait another year, choose the strongest stem (typically the most vibrant growth, or the most desirable shape) and cut out the rest.

Most pastes, purportedly used to "heal" tree wounds, contain petroleum distillates. They do a far better job of making you feel good, doing something for the tree, than they do for the tree itself. If you want to help the tree, protect it from further injury, remove the dead wood, cover the stem with burlap in the fall (removing the burlap in the spring) to minimize the likelihood of frost cracks developing, and perhaps fertilize with liquid seaweed. Mulching in the fall -- until the tree is better established -- can be beneficial to protect the rooting systems, unless you have an infallible crystal ball that tells you it will be a mild winter.

The loose bark can be cut away with a sharp knife, but if you don't know how, ask or pay a local professional to help. You don't want to make the problem worse.

Hope the tree survives, and you can enjoy it for many years to come.

glennak

Looks like you have a dead section of trunk rather than mechanical damage. If this is correct see how much is dead.

TreeSpecialist

Where in Texas is this?

How many weeping willows occur in your neighborhood?

The weeping willow is a relatively short-lived, weak-wooded, and disease prone tree in Texas.

The top of the tree dying back is of greater concern than the trunk wound.

Where did the trees come from and when / how were they planted?

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Jamie Myers

The grass in the background looks sparce also. It looks to me like drought stress Willows have a massive water demand and your plot looks dry.