Save my willow!

quote=Allen Carlson]Last fall I planted a bunch of willow cuttings. Only one of them ended up rooting. I transplanted it a few months ago, and it started showing symptoms of transplant shock, so I moved it into a shady spot, where it seemingly recovered.

I haven't measured or anything, but where it is now gets probably fewer than 4 hours of sun right now. I'm a bit worried for it because it looks like it's starting to get a bit leggy, but I don't know if moving it to a sunnier spot would shock it worse.



That was a post from summer. I was gone for a while, and when I recently came back, he/she wasn't looking too great. I thought it was just because the pot was too small, so I transplanted him/her to my chicken coop.

I've been watering plenty, but he's looking worse than before, and starting to defoliate! Is it just transplant shock? Is there any quick fix?
I have to leave again for a while today.

(As you can probably tell by my use of gendered personal pronouns, I'm a bit too attached to this tree, so advice would be greatly appreciated)
Thanks

Don't despair. It's autumn where you are, right? The tree might be getting ready to drop its leaves and take a siesta. It might surprise you in the spring with a flush of new growth once it's established.

That could be it. None of the other trees around here have really started changing yet, but I've heard sometimes transplanting can cause an "early autumn". Also, I think the soil in the coop might have too much nitrogen, so mixing in some wood shavings couldn't hurt, right?

Thanks

Willows here are often the first to go yellow and drop leaves. They happily take up lots of nutrients (see threads on willow feeders), so once it's got its legs under it I suspect it will appreciate the extra goodness from the chickens.

I don't know what type of willow you have, but my basket willow are very susceptible to not having enough water, just in the first year. I agree that it is also possible that it is just taking an early fall. We water via sprinkler for a couple hours, once or twice a week in the driest and hottest weeks.

Willows do need quite a lot of water since they usually grow along the banks of streams. Be aware though, they will also grow towards water pipes and pools, possibly causing damage as in cracking walls and busting pipes. Just make sure they are far enough away from any of these. Surely, they are magnificant.