Weeping Willow unhealthy

[Meic88]

Hi all,

I'd be very grateful for some advice.

I have a weeping willow in the bottom of the garden. It's approximately 9m in height and is fairly crowded by other trees/vegetation. Last year I noticed some peeling of the bark which started near the base and this year has considerably progressed up the tree (approximately 3m). The wood beneath the bark feels soft and the leaves on the tree do not look happy at all. I moved here only 2 years ago and have no idea how old the tree is. What could be going on?

 

Thank you.

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, Meic88 said:

Hi all,

I'd be very grateful for some advice.

I have a weeping willow in the bottom of the garden. It's approximately 9m in height and is fairly crowded by other trees/vegetation. Last year I noticed some peeling of the bark which started near the base and this year has considerably progressed up the tree (approximately 3m). The wood beneath the bark feels soft and the leaves on the tree do not look happy at all. I moved here only 2 years ago and have no idea how old the tree is. What could be going on?

 

Thank you.

With that open wound I think its not too happy  but , Willow is one hell of a trier and quite hard to kill . It could go on like that for years looking crap . You could even cut it all down to a stump and it will sprout again .

[openspaceman]

Like many weeping willows the lesions on the shoots look like anthracnose, which will be an annually recurring thing.

 

The rot at the base is different and probably started from old damage, it may well cause the tree to fail.

[David Humphries]

The black bootlaces on the exposed wood in the 2nd image are likely the rhizomorphs of an Armillaria species of fungi. It will be decaying the section of dysfunctional wood volume that may be associated with dead roots on that side of the tree or trunk damage caused by an impact or bonfire some years previously. 

Edited July 9 by David Humphries

[Dan Maynard]

Those bootlaces are fab!

 

Hopefully at the bottom of the garden there's not much around if it falls over?

[Meic88]

1 hour ago, Dan Maynard said:

Those bootlaces are fab!

 

Hopefully at the bottom of the garden there's not much around if it falls over?

 

Fortunately nothing around it, but it does lean quite heavily into the garden and I have young children so I don't think I'll be taking the risk.  Thank you everyone for your replies! Very helpful.