Wiring of a Weeping Willow..Eight hours later.

[roka]

And on the seventh day god created wire boy, hehe nice work mate.That will be my next tree

[craigw60]

Thats a seriously nice tree Bodhi. Beautiful trunk movement. You have almost convinced me to grow a willow
Craig

[PeterH]

Hi bodhi,

Nice willow. I have had one since about 1997. They are a lot of work and over the years I have had problems. The constant wiring of the tree is one of the problems and the other one is the die back. The die back was sometimes major and sometimes not so bad but the combined problems had this tree left in the corner and neglected.

I did eventually worked out why the dieback happened and found a solution to the it and has proven to work over the past couple of years.

I hope yours does well into the future.


Peter

[Tintop]

Absolutly awsome Bodhi i love Bonsai willows the look great when in full leaf

I want one! not sure how one would go in Townsville but

Patrick

[Bretts]

Hi Peter can you tell us how you solved the problem?

[PeterH]

Bretts

What I had learnt from observation over the problem years is that the die back would start just after leaf loss in autumn. As the leaves started to change colour a rust would appear on the leaves.

My theory was that this rust would get into next years buds at the base of the leaf and thus travel up the branch, killing it from the tip back..

My solution was as the leaves were turning in Autumn I would strip them all off. To do this I grab the tip of the branch and run my fingers from the tip to the end stripping the leaves off. I would do this over the whole tree. Then I use diluted Lime Sulphur ( As per instructions ) to thoroughly spray all branches.Some years I have done this twice over a two week period.
Before spaying was done I would protect the soil by using a plastic bag to cover it and tape it up around the trunk with duct tape.

This solution works for me but I can not guarantee it will work for everyone.

Peter

[Bretts]

Hey thanks Peter that's very interesting as I have that rust on my Willow for the first time ever this year. Also I lost a few buds on other trees last season and I was blaming the high fungus around this year but that was only a guess.
My Willow still has it's leaves at the moment so I will consider stripping it If I get the chance before they fall. I will definitely be using the Lime sulfur on all the trees this year.

I have only started growing the Willow again last season but I am also relying on a technique that I think Bodi also uses now which does not use a water tray but just has constant watering. A gravity fed dripper is a simple fix.
Also we have been feeding very heavily. I got both of these techniques from an article in Bonsai Focus that was stated as the solution to Winter die back. The writer of the article believe that the die back was from the tree running out of energy over Winter because of lack of nutrients.
The pictorial time line of his tree showed drastic improvements in growth once he started using this technique.

[bodhidharma]

Bretts

What I had learnt from observation over the problem years is that the die back would start just after leaf loss in autumn. As the leaves started to change colour a rust would appear on the leaves.

My theory was that this rust would get into next years buds at the base of the leaf and thus travel up the branch, killing it from the tip back..

My solution was as the leaves were turning in Autumn I would strip them all off. To do this I grab the tip of the branch and run my fingers from the tip to the end stripping the leaves off. I would do this over the whole tree. Then I use diluted Lime Sulphur ( As per instructions ) to thoroughly spray all branches.Some years I have done this twice over a two week period.
Before spaying was done I would protect the soil by using a plastic bag to cover it and tape it up around the trunk with duct tape.

This solution works for me but I can not guarantee it will work for everyone.

Peter

Thanks Peter, i solved the problem in a different way. After studying an editorial of a fellow who grew one and had all the problems i was having, i embraced his method and doubled it. First and foremost, do not sit the tree in a pot of water because the root system after growing into it will need to be cut severely. This is because they become fleshy and thick and as soon as you cut them there is dieback in the tree. I now irrigate a continuous flow through the root system and they remain more fibrous and i suffer no dieback as yet. Thre only dieback i get is if i leave wire for to long. The second thing being fertilizering on a continuous basis. when you think you have put on enough, put some more on. This seems to do the job and power the tree along. This tree is only SEVEN years old.