Help with a willow tree! Please!!!!
By Tabithad
Warwickshire,
United Kingdom 
We have a 5ft willow tree in desperate need of thinning out as spreading too thick. We purchased it from a garden centre 7 years ago so is about that age. It never flowered last year, but has buds on now. It budded last year but just turned straight to leaf. Why? The under branches have gone dry & brittle & break off.
How do you prun/thin this & when is the right time (obviously not in flower!).
Thanks.
23 Jan, 2009
Answers
Thanks. What is a grafted tree?
23 Jan, 2009
Flamingo willow (the variegated one on a stick) is a grafted willow. The 'stick' part is a different type of willow to the variegated part at the top.
You can usually spot the graft point, as it it often thicker than either above or below it.
Do you know what your Willow is? Salix what?
23 Jan, 2009
You may remove the dead branches whenever you choose. As to pruning the rest, then as you say wait until flowering has finished then you may prune as hard as you choose back to one or two inches from the origin of a branch if you want to. Obviously if it is a grafted tree then do not go beyond the graft. I prune our twisted willow back to that sort of size every other year.
Your lack of flowers may well be ;cos the tree is overcrowded and needs a good thinning out.
23 Jan, 2009