Re-growing willow tree from stump?

Question

A recent windstorm knocked over our beautiful willow tree. (it'd been poorly pruned and had several, weak trunks.)

1.How fast will a weeping willow tree regrow from the stump?

2. Would the tree be stronger if we just replanted one?

3. We still have a huge stump and a sprout that came out of it--if we cut the stump to the ground, will a willow sprout from it?

Answer 1

1. It should regrow quite rapidly.

2. Rot is likely to start in the stump, so a new tree would probably be stronger. Willows root very easily, though, all you have to do is take a green willow shoot and stick it in the ground - it will almost always root.

3. There should be many new shoots. It would be better to not cut it flush with the ground while you're trying to get starts from it, leave it 6" to a foot tall.

Let several good, strong shoots grow until they reach at least 1/2 inch in diameter. In November to February, cut them, remove any leaves, and clip off the tips. Soak them in water for 5 to 7 days, then plant them in a place you've selected as a nursery bed. Most if not all should grow. Keep them well-watered for the first year, in the fall dig the strongest one and move it to its permanent location. Get rid of the extra ones before they get too big! ;-)

Answer 2

You will have a sturdier, healthier tree if you plant a new one, and it will be larger than the twig you have left, sooner. It will also look better than seeing the stump left over from the old one. If you don't completely remove the old stump, you will always have to look at it, the new tree will not fill-out the old stump. That part is dead. What is left of the old tree will fight to come back from the roots of the old tree, so if you have a sentimental attachment to the old tree, encourage the new start, and help it survive by removing the old stump and other old roots.

Trivia: industry studies show a 5-gallon tree from the nursery, and a one-gallon tree will be equal in size in 15 years. A start from the old tree will take about 1 year longer.

Answer 3

Willow Tree Sapling

Answer 4

Willows grow pretty fast.Providing the stump is strong without cracks or splits, you should be ok. What you can do is wait until a sapling sprouts, then cut off sapling, cover with rooting compound, and plant alongside stump.The saplings take very easily.Our willows here in NZ are used as wind breaks, and grow tall within a year or two. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Willows will sprout from a twig. They are very hardy and want to live. I would cut the stump to about 8" and watch for regrowth. In the mean time, take the sprout and put it in a pot. Keep it well watered and you will have a back tree in no time.

Answer 6

...When I was a kid, my parents planted a Willow "Whip"- to celebrate my birth... It was SO spindly- my father accidentally cut it down with the lawnmower a month later. To my parents surprise- it re-sprouted from the ground several weeks later, and grew like crazy on our front lawn for the next 40 years. By the time it came crashing down in a big Hurricane in 1988, it was 150 feet tall, equally as wide- and the BIGGEST tree on our street! ..... SO; Your Willow tree is apt to grow VERY quickly from its stump (if you keep it well watered), and it probably WILL sprout from the stump if you cut most of it down (as LONG as you keep your lawnmower away from it for the first couple of years! :) ).

Answer 7

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