When NOT to attempt to prune your corkscrew Willow

 Curly or Corkscrew Willow - Salix babylonica, or Salix matsudana, anything with the cultivar name “Tortuosa” - is a delightful, beautiful, ornamental tree: fast growing, but not long-lived:

 .. and generally speaking, they don't need to be pruned - Unlike curly Hazel, it's not particularly important to keep checking the base for non-curly shoots, as these curly Willows are not grafted, which means that they never throw up long straight “reverted” shoots, in the way that curly Hazel do.

They don't need much attention, as they mostly have a fairly upright growth habit, so they don't spread too much, and they are usually problem-free... until they get a bit too big....

 

 

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