I planted a bare root golden weeping willow about 6 weeks ago. It looked fantastic until about a week ago. Now some of the new leaves are falling off, and the young stems appear to dying starting from the tips. I'm not sure what it is--anthracnose? Fortunately the owner of the nursery I deal with is willing to make a house call and take a look (I've spent the king's ransom on trees this season). My question is, if the tree dies, do I have poor odds with another willow? Should I cut my losses and move on to another species altogether? Thank you. You folks are the best. I'm in Courtenay.
Without knowing what is causing the decline, it is difficult to say whether it is something soil-borne that may injure / kill any replacements of the same species. Did you get a diagnosis of what did it yet? Or -- post photos (and include images of the stem near the soil line).
Here's one photo of 2 stems. Every stem looks like this. Black color starts at the tip and moves up the stem toward the central leader. Notice how about half of the leaves have fallen off too. Sorry, I forgot the photo of the tree near soil line. I'll add that one later.
Maybe something like this. Note the title of the reference cited, dating from 1977. http://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdiseas...willow-salix-sp-marssonina-leaf-and-twig-spot
