Sport on Salix integra "Hakuro Nishiki"

While ambling through the gardens after a vacation I came across a strange sight. A Salix integra "Hakuro Nishiki" grafted on an 8 ft standard has produced one limb with numerous strange tufts of tiny, slightly contorted leaves. The tufts grow lateral to the direction of the branch. I will post a picture when it stops raining long enough. I looked for insect/borer damage and am pretty certain there is no herbicide damage. I have two questions. Does anyone have experience with this graft and is what I am seeing a common occurence? Is it worth trying to grow the sport independently? It is rather neat looking. Would I graft this to something else? I am way out of my league here.

Still waiting for your photo!

Guy S.

im curious too???
taya

Hey Taya -- do you really have a microclimate over there in Champagne-Banana that's zone 4b, or was that a typo? (Or are you referring to your summer place up in Minnesota?) Most of us here in central Illinois are still trying to decide whether to stick with zone 5 or let global warming bump us up to zone 6a.
;-)

Guy S.

Finally; Time out for a medical mishap. Not serious.

ok star..ive changed my zone .just to stop all the questions! my favorite nursery and i call it mid 4 because the water table is so near the surface that we get a lot of frozen roots ...its not the air temp per se thats the problem, its wind and a high water table that freezes because of the wind. raised and mounded beds help some . but for instance i ve never seen a butterfly bush winter over here.!
taya

Oh, yeah, now I remember about your wet zone! But I think you'd be right to call it "Zone 5 with an attitude problem!" instead of zone 4.

Snap, my first reaction is the same as yours was -- insect or herbicide damage. Unless someone comes up with a better answer, I'd suggest watching it next year to see if it appears again. You might tag the branch so you will remember next spring which one it was.

Guy S.

Thanks StarhillForest. I will tag the branch and see what happens next spring. No sense in getting too excited when a neighbor could have been careless with Roundup.

Mary

I think salix can suffer from fasciation brought on by insect attack. It might be that but can't quite tell. This type of salix is a freak of nature so doesn't surprise me.

Freak is a very good descriptive term. You should see how it responds to pruning!
I am mighty tempted to use the chain saw on it. I's got about two more years in the landscape here to shape up, literally.

Mary

We grow loads on our nursery as grafted standards.
Cut em back hard in spring to keep the shape good.

I did just that this spring before new growth began. I pruned off everything that didn't weep or direct the crown laterlally. The response was a mass of six foot shoots straight up. I'll post a pic tomorrow. Try not to laugh too hard when you see it. I'm keeping the chain saw oiled.

snap, why isn't there any pink showing in the leaves. Is it because of all your rain. Mine is not as pinkish as it was earlier, but still some pink in the leaves. But that tree is a case of keeping th pruners out all the time when one is in the vicinity.

Donna

Mine shows no pink in the new growth either - wonder if it has something to do with the soil it's planted in?

I have retract my statement that my Salix nishiki still has pink in leaves. Maybe because late in season, no pink, just the white variegation. here is not very good photo.

Donna

they are in pink in spring then go green with a touch of white in the summer and the back to spring colours if autumn doesn't com on to fast.

Chain saw or pruners? It was drop dead gorgeous flushed salmon pink with green/white varigation through mid May. Then the pink faded by June. The varigation is still quite nice.

And I am thinking to myself: the only thing left is "up". You're going to have one scared looking willow!

But now that I see the pic, it's not quite what I had envisioned. Really, the result is exactly what I would expect though. Personally, I don't care much for standards, but if you give it a hard prune all around, you will be on track for a respectable look. You need to encourage new growth all around, rather than just on top. The pink usually occurs in cool temps.

This was the first pruning job ever on this tree. It is the third year in the landscape. Prior it looked like a fright wig on a stick. I know what you are thinking, It still does! It constantly amazes me with its vigor. I am also amazed at my total lack of ability in pruning for the proper response. Incidentally it was the nursery guy who schlepped this thing off on me that said "just cut off any thing that doesn't weep". So next spring I'll try again. This ought to be fun to watch.

Try spraying with roundup. It will look loads better! heheheh