In the summer we realised that our twisted willow tree had got huge. It was only about four or five feet high when we planted it eleven years ago. We wanted to add some height to the borders and at about twenty pounds it seemed a bargain. It fitted easily in the car that we had at that time.
This summer it was shading my sunny spot on the patio and as much of it was hanging in our neighbours garden as in ours. We had always told them to feel free to prune it but they said that they liked it. It was now over fifteen feet high.
We decided to wait until the end of the year and then give it a hard chop back. The end of the year came and went and yesterday my husband decided it was time to tackle it.
Our twisted willow tree in August
Our twisted willow tree after we have lopped it
Twisted willow tree from the same angle as the summer photo
I should have taken a winter photo of it before we lopped it but realised too late. I will take another comparison photo in the summer when it is green again. I am really pleased with it as I think it will be a much better shape and more manageable.
It is a good job done that we have been meaning to do for ages.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Good job done.
It is. We have to get on with these jobs while we have the odd quiet moment. I think the tree will be a better shape now too. It had ended up just looking like an overgrown mass in the summer.
Certainly the right time of year for doing it – I need to prune some of mine before spring growth starts, and am hoping to enlist the help of one of my sons!
We have been making the most of the quiet start we always have in January to try to get to grips with these sort of garden jobs. Getting help from one of your sons sounds like a good idea.