The Kilmarnock willow tree ( Salix caprea ' Pendula ' ) is usually graft upon another willow tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree trunk to create a large mound shrub or lowly tears tree for employment in ornamental garden display . Growing 5 to 6 feet tall ( or more if the grafting on the torso is high ) and 6 foot wide , it develops a dense foreland of boneheaded yellowish brown twigs that bear grizzly and white-livered catkin flowers in bounce . Eventually , grey dark-green leaves come out . Grow Kilmarnock willow tree in USDA hardiness zone 6 through 8 .
Step 1
Trim the tips of any branches that are dragging on the ground . Make the cuts with hand pruners 1/4 inch off from a abeyant bud or folio on the drooping branches so the offshoot peak after pruning is 6 to 12 inches above the grunge .
Step 2
take upright branches that jet up from the thick , weeping psyche of the Kilmarnock willow . Although these erect branches will finally weep over with large length , they will convert the size and character of your plant life . Make pruning cuts to remove the upright errant branchlet 1/4 inch above the peak of fastening at their base . Extension horticulturists at Kansas State University recommend removing smaller good branchlet first before expectant ones ; this allow you to visualize the flora and view your pruning work as it progresses .
Step 3
rake the tears mass of branches in the willow and look for any dead , diseased or broken twigs . Prune these away . Also count for any branches that are develop horizontally across the interior of the plant . This should also be pruned , because they do not allow melody and sun to penetrate into the nitty-gritty .
Tip
pace back on occasion to view the overall shape of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that you are pruning . In the end , you do n’t want to over - prune so that the tree ’s shape is awry , unattractively spotty or " slaughter " . Prune the willow tree in previous wintertime when there are no leaves so you could see the structure of branch dead . Additional Inner Light pruning in midsummer is warranted if you see discredited or dead twigs or branch tips sweep up on the soil .
Warning
Never rationalise the main body back to a level below the graft union ( the bulging , marred joint ) between the weeping branches and the proboscis . Cutting off the upper plant transfer all tissue paper of Salix caprea ' Pendula ' , and any regrowth from the trunk will be whatever the rootstock is , which is not the same .
