FROST DAMAGED CURLY WILLOWS

HELLO ALL YOU KNOWLEDGEABLE FOLKS OUT THERE, I HAVE A LITTLE DILEMA. MY WIFE AND I LIVE IN NOTHERN MINNESOTA (ZONE 3). WE HAVE TWO CURLY WILLOW TREES, EACH ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD. THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR FRONT YARD AND HAVE BEEN OUR PRIDE AND JOY. THIS SPRING AFTER ALL THE NEW BUDS HAD DEVELOPED WE HAD SOME VERY COLD WEATHER ALONG WITH HEAVY FROST. NOW, THIS LATE INTO THE SEASON, NEITHER OF THEM HAVE ANY FOLIAGE AT ALL. ALOT OF THE YOUNGER, SMALLER BRANCHES HAVE DRIED UP AND EASILY SNAP OFF. THE UNUSUAL THING IS THAT OUR CASCADING WILLOWS WERE UNEFFECTED AND DOING WONDERFULLY. WE BELIEVE OUR PROBLEM WITH THE CURLY WILLOWS IS FROST DAMAGE. WHAT WE ARE WONDERING IS, WILL THESE TREES RECOVER?? WILL THEY RE-BUD THIS SEASON? WILL THESE TREES EVER RECOVER AT ALL OR ARE THEY JUST AN UNFORTUNATE STATISTIC OF MOTHER NATURE. ANY ANSWERS OR SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!! THANKS ALL!!!!

Any parts that are dried up and snap off easily are dead. Any dead parts can be cut off--they're not doing the plant any good and they're not going to come back. But hopefully some of the larger branches aren't dead, and if they are still alive then there's still hope, but you'll have to hang in there and be patient and see if it comes back for you. If you scratch the bark with your fingernail and see green underneath then it's still alive. It's hard to say how well they'll come back or how fast and there's really nothing you can do to accelerate the recovery (although you could hurt its chances by overwatering, overfertilizing, in general giving them too much TLC). Best thing to do is just be patient and see what happens. Most places I've seen only list these as being hardy to zone 4b though, so it seems like your area might be a bit borderline for them. Mild winters they'll probably be fine, but from time to time I expect you're going to have damage like this even if the weather doesn't outright kill them. I'll keep my fingers crossed for them!

THANK YOU ecrane3, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THE CURLY WILLOW NOT BEING VERY HARDY IN ZONE 3 WITH THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE. ONE CANT HELP BUT RAISE AN EYEBROW AS TO WHY THE LOCAL LANDSCAPING BUSINESS WOULD BOTHER SELLING THIS TYPE OF TREE. HOWEVER THEY HAD DONE FINE UP UNTIL NOW, THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL LAST AUTUMN. IT SEEMS LIKE SUCH A SHAME. WE BABIED THOSE TREES AND TOOK EVERY PRECAUTION WE COULD TO HELP THEM THRIVE. SO IS THE CASCADING WILLOW JUST A HARDIER TYPE OF WILLOW?? I WILL TAKE YOUR ADVISE AND JUST BE PATIENT, GIVE THEM UNTIL NEXT SPRING AND HOPE FOR THE BEST!! THANKS AGAIN!!

Seems like many areas have gotten slightly warmer in recent times, so chances are most winters you'll be OK. But there's a good chance that from time to time you're going to get a winter that's too cold for plants that are borderline or not really hardy in your zone. However, since your cold snap was late enough, I doubt if it went below the minimum temperature that the plant can survive--it may have been too much for the tender new leaves and some of the smaller branches, but I think there's a decent chance the bigger branches are still alive. I don't know what plant you mean by cascading willow, but if it was leafing out around the same time and didn't get damaged then it likely is a hardier species. There are lots of different willows and some species are definitely hardier than others.

I GUESS WE WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE, HOPE FOR THE BEST!! I BELIEVE THE PROPER NAME FOR THE OTHER TYPE OF WILLOW I MENTIONED WOULD BE THE PRAIRIE CASCADE WILLOW. THANKS AGAIN!!

I found a couple sites that list that one as hardy to zone 3 or even 2, so it seems it is hardier than the curly willows.