The Hakuru Nikishi Willow is a well behaved plant. It's much more treated as a shrub than a tree. As far as health, I'm no expert but I haven't heard much problems associated with this tree.

Ianna

I planted a tree form of dappled willow a couple of years ago and it is thriving. I have it in full sun and only added fresh compost to the planting hole. I have had to cut off a couple of sucker starts on the lower trunk as the dapple willow is grafted onto the main trunk or something(read about about in other posts and this made sense because the new shoots had much different leaves). Its one of my favorite plants in the garden.

I purchased a small, 12-inch dappled willow shrub at a nursery in September 08 which I proceeded to train as a standard or tree-form.

It's presently about 4 feet tall and I intend (hopefully) to train it to about 8 feet tall.

My next-door neighbor has 2 beautiful specimen (tree forms) which are about 12 feet tall. I thought they were slow-growing or had reached their full height because it seems they.ve been that tall for the past couple of years. However, while speaking with him the other week, he informed me that he prunes off about a foot or more each year so they won't get too tall.

Very beautiful trees.

dianasan, your information is very timely. A friend wanted to get one of these plants but she didn't want to buy the standards since these are grafted plants. I mentioned that these can be trained into trees from shrubs but I didn't know how long it would take to get there.

I totally agree - these are excellent plants and they do have that 'spark' that makes it shine out.

ianna, you have to be very patient, but I love the challenge. It's looking good so far.

dianasan, I'm very patient. I do bonsai and topiaries. A 2-3 year wait is nothing for me and I love to prune.

BTW - I got so interested in this plant I went out and bought a shrub of my own. I've just planted it out today after I removed much of its branches to begin the training process into a tree.

With your experience, I'm sure the tree will be beautiful, ianna.

I've always wanted to create a bonsai, bought lots of containers and books on the subject, but never actually got around to doing it. Maybe in a few years when I have more time.

I started when I was very young and naive -- 14 years I think. Some trees I grew from seeds, some from cuttings. Sadly I had leave them behind when I migrated but they are still well taken cared of. I give them prunings and root prunnings when I go back every few years. It is an involved process so it does take commitment. Over here I tried to get back into it but like what you said, time is an issue. Plus I need the proper space to put the plants in and the proper protection from winter. So for the meantime I'm just doing topiaries.

ThatÂs very impressive, ianna. Bonsai really is an art and you seem to have a real talent. It must have been hard to leave your Âbabies behind.

I planted a dappled willow standard last year. It was in poor health at the time but made it through winter and was very healthy until recently.I've noticed the tip of the leaves are turning brown once they change to pink (from green). We've had more rain than normal for the season - could this be the cause? If not, any idea what's causing this and how to remedy? Also, I was surprised to see the leaves are light pink while the ones in the neighbourhood are bright pink - could this be because it's a standard and not a tree? Thank you for your advice.

stella - the light pink is normal. I noticed my plant (newly planted) had a little browning episode but has since recovered. It too has light pink and white foliage. Is your tree still browning up and is it shriveling?

The standards are usually grafted ones. You will see a graft union right at the base of the crown. If this part is damaged, like some splits or insect infestations, these could cause the top to be affected. So this is the area to protect in winter.

I cannot comment on tree forms - because sometimes these can also be from standards or from a shrub that was developed into a tree (which is what I am doing).

Continue to observe it. Give it some fertilizers for trees and shrubs. or some good compost and composted manure. I think it will do okay.

My little dappled willow shrub that I'm grooming into a tree has some browning too, as do my neighbor's two 12-foot trees.

As ianna said, I think the browning after the pink is normal.

Good afternoon! I also have had a dappled willow, bush form, in my front foundation area for about a year and a half now. It's quite healthy (north east exposure) but I would love to keep it more "tree-like" It has so many off-shoots, I really wouldn't know where to start...any help in how to begin this process would be appreciated :)

describe 'tree-like'. Do you mean a lollipop form? For this you'd have to identify a main trunk or a trunk you selected to be the main trunk. Second, remove all side branches up to the point the crown begins. Then for the crown, trim all the top to form a large ball. maintain this form every few months during the growing season.

My willow is now about 7 feet tall. I almost started crying when I looked out the window this morning after last night's severe thunderstorms. There was my little willow completely flattened and lying beneath an eight-foot cast aluminum plant stand.

I ran outside, lifted off the plant stand and pulled up my tree. Amazingly, it's still in one piece and standing upright.

As they say...

The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak that resists it.

I have a dappled willow which I want to keep in shrub form, but it is growing tall and more tree-like, although with many stems. Can I prune it severe.y, to persuade it back into a shrub?

yes you can. they do grow back. I grew mine as a standard but because I'm transferring homes and will take this with me, I chopped it far down the trunk. It's actually growing more leaves/branches from the trunk now.

Does anyone know where I can buy a Salix integra Hakuro Nishiki (Dappled Willow) grafted standard?

Tina -are you in Ontario? These are plentiful at many garden centres like Sheridan but usually seasonal garden centres will carry them at much more economical rates.

I have a grafted dappled willow in tree form. It only has two small branches near the top. Will this tree form start crowning on it's own, or do I need to cut the small branches back to force it to crown? Thank you.

@Ianna, I am in Sacramento.

First of all, I bought a dappled willow in the garden department of Walmart when it was marked down at the end of the season. It should be available in Sacramento as well as here in Petersburg, Virginia, Zone 7A.

Second of all, what is the reason that the dappled willow standards are usually grafted? Is it for a speedier product to sell? Are the Hakuro Nishiki trunks exceptionally pliable? Does anyone have one that he knows is not grafted?

I wanted a standard, but I read that dappled willows are usually grafted onto goat (?!) willow, and instead of pruning mine into a straight trunk on its own, I wrapped several branches around a 6" X 6" beam and cut away the lower growth. I let the branches spread out at between 4 -5 feet high, and they reach out to 8 - 9 feet now. I have to keep trimming away the lower growth, and I soak it in water for use as a rooting hormone when I propagate other plants. I have also been propagating the dappled willow itself, and training some standards. Does anyone know how long it takes for the Hakuro Nishiki trunks to be strong enough to stand on their own? I don't want to graft, I don't want to have to obtain goat willow, especially as I read that goat willow will send out suckers of its own.

Thanks Wendy. I'll start scouring my local Walmart.

I contacted Sooner Plant Farm. They have the grafted tree form with Japanese Pussy Willow root stock, which I fear is more aggressive than Hakuro Nishiki's own roots. I think I might be better off trying to train the shrub to tree since I worry about invasive roots ruining sewer and water lines.

Tina Buell, thanks for the information. I'm interested in how your topiary work goes. My dappled willows have been slow to develop, and maybe the grafting allows for a faster turn around on the product for nurseries. Any number of branches could be grafted on to create a full little tree. My little trees have also have benefited from better soil (more perlite, maybe) and more frequent watering and applications of fertilizer this season. They are filling out, but most are staked until they become stout enough to stand independently. The three foot tree is stout enough, at about a one inch diameter. The little Hakuro Nishikis that I have rooted and that I'm letting grow as shrubs are also slow to progress at first.

Re-hashing this old post, as I would love to know how dianasan's or Tina Buells training of a dappled willow shrub into a tree went. I'm new here and don't know how else to find out. I am trying to do the same and would like some advice.

I never bought one, too scared of the roots. I've been dreaming of one though

shellyjrose: l just lost a whole paragraph... I'll start over. First of all, I have a link on training shrubs into standards.
http://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/trees-and-shrubs/turn-your-shrubs-into-trees

shellyjrose: I choose one branch and stake it up. As it grows, I gradually prune/eliminate the lower branches, but not too severely, because the plant needs the leaves to feed itself.

shellyjrose, I am writing in shorter pieces because I have twice lost my compositions by inadvertently hitting some mysterious key on my laptop. Anyway, it does take a few years for a Hakuro Nishiki trunk to thicken enough to support itself, but when it reaches that point, it has the integrity of a plant on its own roots. I have read recommendations that dappled willows be pruned in the late winter/early spring, but while mine are still in the training stage, I prune whenever I want to stimulate fuller branching.

Shelly this is a lovely plant. I can see what shape you are going for. The only issue with woven trunks is that they may crowd each other out eventually. I think though you have a great opportunity to play around with the shape. look up 'pleached' topiary for ideas. You can grow 3 in a row looking like that and it will look really nice, especially along a fence.

Tina - this particular form of willow is not invasive. Nothing wrong with the roots. Its very well behaved.

Thank you, ianna. The only reason I tried braiding it was because it was suggested by my friend. I cannot figure out what I should do with them! :-(

I don't see why you can't braid them. I think the main thing is to be patient and give the willow time for its trunk/s to strengthen. The standard form is usually dappled willow branches grafted onto goat willow, because the powers that be claim that dappled willow's trunk isn't strong enough for a standard. I have a couple that are plenty sturdy. It just takes longer on its own trunk/roots, and commercial growers want to see their product ready to sell sooner.

ianna, won't the braided willow trunks eventually weld themselves into one trunk? Can they? Does that weaken them? I only braided one of mine. All of them,single or not, are taking varying lengths of time to thicken and strengthen. I've just started trying air layering to get a larger plant sooner, as the cuttings take years to grow.

shellyjrose, Dappled willows are easy to propagate. You can start some new ones and experiment with them, given time.

well - its not that you can't. Its what may occur later on. You may have seen a number of ficus plants being braided like this and that's actually in the nature of ficus which are in the wild, considered parasite trees (they grow up trees and eventually strangle them). its fine for those tropical plants. With dappled willows though it could be a different story.

You would notice in tree shaping how branches growing too close to another are separated and sometimes one will be cut out. This is because those tiny gaps in between is an area vulnerable to insects, ice, disease. I'm not too sure about the strangling it to death part of it. Just beneath the outer bark layer, the is the layer that's responsible for carrying up nutrients - basically plant veins. So if that gets strangled then some of the branches can be affected by that process. -- that is if those bark areas are compromised.

I see. Well, it didn't cost me much, and it is braided, planted, and doing well, so I guess I will just let it go and see what happens! If it doesn't do well, I'm only out seven bucks, and I have three others that I just separated and am letting go to train as single trunk trees.

I'm all for experimentation. I have toyed with potted trees before. My bonsais are on an average of 35 years per plant - the oldest now is 54 years old. I didn't get to do these things without experimentation.. So good luck to you.