Hi,
We have a tree that is not doing well. We know it is a Pussy
willow since we get them in the early
spring. However, since we didn't know what we were doing (the tree was already established when we bought the house and we knew nothing about gardening), we have not done much with it. So, now a lot of the branches that don't have any or very few leaves on it. There are a lot of healthy looking shoots coming from the base of it.
I wasn't able to find much about the care of the tree but I did find the following on this website:
Although they can be allowed to grow unpruned, the plant will benefit from regular pruning after blooming. Prune the lowest branches back to the trunk, and prune for shape. You can even cut the tree back to a six inch stump every 2-3 years (severe pruning results in the longer stems and larger catkins). flowers form on the previous season's growth, not on new growth so
do not prune until after the flowers have faded.My question is should we just cut it back to the 6 inch stump as suggested (it is about 20 feet high now) and if so can we do it NOW or should we do it at a different time.
Thanks for any advise.
