Pest battle with Weeping Willow — and how I won

I had a serious problem with verticillium wilt causing branch dieback on susceptible species on my Weeping Willow earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate significant impact on the microclimate and character of a garden, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a wildlife garden with native species and improved my attention to formative pruning in the first five years to build a clear leader. blossom or leaf burst in spring creating dramatic transformation was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.