The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Corkscrew Willow Tree

A corkscrew willow tree or better known as a curly willow tree is a tree specimen that is known for its twisting branches. If you are a gardener who is serious about creating a captivating landscape in your garden, then growing a curly willow tree would be your best fit.

We have formulated this guide so that we can walk you through the best and easiest steps of growing this tree specimen. After completing this guide, we guarantee that you will become a master in nurturing this tree as we will give an in-detail review of how this tree can be grown and maintained.

With this guide, we will let you know the right location where this tree can be grown, provide you with easy steps on how to prepare the soil for planting, and show you the necessary rules for watering and pruning the plant. Join us as we teach you how to make these twisted branches as your centerpiece in your garden

Growing Tips for Corkscrew Willow Tree

1. Choosing the Right Location

When you plan to plant a curly willow tree, then you must make sure that you select a spot that receives direct sunlight for at least six hours. Once you have chosen the spot, then make sure that the soil is well moistured and has proper drainage, as lacking these facilities would harm the tree.

In addition, make sure that spot doesn’t have any powerlines, other plants, and establishments nearby as the tree can grow about 40 meters tall, and any of these hindrances would not give the tree enough room to grow. Once done, you can proceed with the next step, which talks about soil preparation.

2. Preparation of Soil

According to the research, corkscrew willow trees best grow under moist soil conditions. However, this tree can tolerate other social conditions like sandy, loam, and clay soils. Once the soil is selected, ensure it is equipped with organic components like well-rotted manure since that would improve its fertility. In addition, don’t forget to check the PH level of the soil. As per studies, the ph level of curly willow is 5.6 to 7.5. Hence it’s of prime importance that you perform a soil check. Once this is done, proceed to step 3, which is organizing the sapling.

3. Organzing the Sapling

Search for the best garden center or nursery when you are about to choose a curly willow sapling. It’s reported that corkscrew willow is best to plant during the spring since that will prepare the tree for hot summer weather. Once done, you can proceed with the next step, which is a plantation of the sapling.

4. Plantation of the Sapling

Here the first step would be losing any soil that would hamper tree growth. To do this, dig a big hole that should be slightly big than the sapling root ball. Once done, carefully place the sapling inside the hole, ensuring the sapling’s top gets leveled with the soil surface.

Now proceed by filling the hole with the amended soil by creating firming present in the roots. Once done, water the sapling entirely so that it gets settled inside the soil, and discard any air pockets if you see them. This is the last step in this process, after this proceed with the next step would be maintenance

5. Maintenance

Maintaining curly willow would require occasional pruning. Due to their contorted growth nature, pruning is not required daily, but the process cannot be ignored. To maintain the good shape of this tree specimen, any dead and damaged branches need to be eliminated

Studies have shown that pruning during the dormant season is ideal for tree growth. This means pruning should be done during early spring or winter. Curly willow is resistant to most pesticides except aphids.

In addition, they can get diseases like cankers. If you face this situation during your curly willow maintenance, then it’s advised that you consult a horticulturist or an arborist. Once you are done with this step, you can proceed with the next step, which is fertilization

6. Fertilization

To provide balanced fertilization, it’s recommended that you provide a slow-release fertilizer that would provide essential nutrients to the tree specimen. If you do not know how to do so, make sure that you consult a horticulturist in your area.

7. Fungal Infection and Lifespan

Anthracnose and rust are the two most common fungal diseases that affect this tree specimen. When this infection is active on the trees, then you will notice black spots appearing on the leaves. In such cases, the immediate treatment that should be followed is pruning. Prune out the affected areas immediately since keeping them unattended might kill the tree.

Horticulturists believe that if you keep this tree well maintained, then the expected lifespan is 30 to 50 years. This is a short lifespan for a tree, but they are short-lived species naturally.

Caring Tips of The Corkscrew Willow Tree

With the help of the above information, we have successfully introduced a pathway on how you should plant a curly willow tree and the necessary steps for selecting the right soil for this beautiful and unique tree. Now we will list some golden caring tips for this tree specimen that would help you keep the tree in its best shape and form.

• Make sure you do the plantation during summer. Select a soil area that gets enough amount of sunlight and has good moisture retention.
• Water the tree regularly in the first year and then occasionally during autumn and spring. Keep in mind that this tree specimen grows best when it has proper moisture in the soil. So always keep a check that your soil has enough moisture but doesn’t have a waterlogging issue.
• Whenever you see any fungal infection inside the tree, take action immediately. Make sure that any affected areas of the tree are removed with the help of pruning. Its recommended that you do your pruning activity in winter before any new growth happens.
• Studies have shown that curly willow trees act best when the soil is moist. They are resistant to any soil, but moisture soils work best for them. Hence always use a balanced fertilizer to keep the soil moist at all times
• Common diseases like other trees do not affect this tree, but it does have cankers. If you see your tree getting infected by this disease, contact a horticulturist for its proper treatment or prune the affected areas if the horticulturist is not available nearly.

Landscaping Ideas for Corkscrew Willow Tree

Corkscrew willow trees are a tree specimen that makes your garden look extremely attractive. These eye-catching and unique plants have the power to transfer your normal garden into a captivating heaven. Here are three landscaping ideas for corkscrew willow tree

• Acting as a shade: Curly willow trees are known to provide the best shade during the summers. Make sure that you plant these trees in an area where you want to create a natural shelter and protect yourself from rain and winds.
• Acting as an attraction: if you want to attract wildlife to your garden, then planting this tree specimen would be a good choice. There are a variety of insects that sits on its bark and branches, and they are eaten by a plethora of birds.
• Acting as a work of art: When you plant this tree beside any water shelter, namely a pond or a stream, you will mesmerize by the amount of beauty it creates. The twisted branches would create a beautiful water reflection, and this projection looks magical.
• Acting as the border plant: There may be several different varieties of trees and plants in your garden, and a quick fix without using a fence would be utilizing a natural barrier. This natural barrier can be your corkscrew willow tree.

Takeaway

In order to create a beautiful garden, you need to have a curly willow tree as your main focus of attraction. Growing this tree from the steps outlined in this comprehensive guide would provide you with a rewarding experience.

Choosing the right location and social and selecting a healthy sapling can be your initial stages. The final stages would involve watering and pruning the plant. Once this tree grows in your landscape, watch how this tree makes your garden a remarkable piece of art.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Growing Conditions of the Corkscrew Willow Tree?

First of all, make sure the soil is moist and choose an area that has access to direct sunlight for at least six hours. Any fungal infection of this tree shall be removed with the help of pruning.

What Benefits of Growing a Corkscrew Willow Tree?

This unique tree acts a magnetic atmosphere in your garden. They transform your normal garden into captivating heaven. They are responsible for attracting wildlife and also provide natural shelter from wind and rain.