Treatment and repair of injured weeping willows, purifying the air and beautifying the urban environment

Weeping willows can beautify the environment we live in, but to ensure they can play their greatest role, when cultivating weeping willows you must, on the basis of understanding their growth habits, take corresponding protective measures to ensure they grow strong and healthy.

I. Notes on cultivating weeping willows

1. Generally speaking, timely watering can, to a certain extent, effectively guarantee the rapid growth of willow trees. Usually, watering is mainly divided into two rounds. The first is carried out immediately after planting the weeping willow is completed, to ensure the soil and the weeping willow sapling are closely combined; the second watering must be based on the actual needs of the sapling. Only in this way can a good irrigation effect be achieved.

2. During the growth process, willow saplings are relatively susceptible to damage from leaf beetles, weevils and aphids, so pest and disease control work must be carried out regularly. On the one hand, this can ensure the healthy growth of the weeping willow; on the other hand, it can also shorten the growth cycle of the weeping willow and help it grow quickly.

3. Generally speaking, during the growth period of the weeping willow, some nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate and urea should be applied appropriately; in the later stage of sapling growth, some potassium fertilizer such as superphosphate and plant ash should be applied appropriately as a top dressing.

4. After the cultivation work of the weeping willow is completed, the follow-up work must be done well, with regular weeding to ensure sufficient nutrients for the growth of the weeping willow.

II. How to prune weeping willows

Pruning at planting: When one-year-old seedlings are planted, the root system and branches and leaves should be pruned appropriately. Planting should be done from after leaf fall in winter until before the leaf buds sprout in February. Once the main root is too long, it tends to curl during planting, which is not conducive to the growth of the root system. Generally, the main root and lateral roots are cut and left 3-6cm, and the fibrous roots are best retained so that a well-developed root system can form. For plants with thin and weak trunks, a bamboo pole must be used to bind and fix the main trunk, and the thin shoot tips should be cut off, the main buds retained, and bud removal carried out carefully, gradually cultivating an upright main trunk.

Shaping of grown saplings: During the growing period, the saplings are shaped and pruned to maintain an appropriate branching point and a full crown. According to the growth vigor of the sapling, every year before the leaf buds sprout, 1-2 whorls of branches should be cut from the main trunk from bottom to top, gradually raising the branching point of the sapling. The trunk height should preferably be 3-3.5m. Weeping willows must not be subjected to heavy branch cutting, because the wound surfaces rot easily when exposed to water, which causes the tree's vigor to decline.

Pruning for transplanting and leaving the nursery: The weeping willow is a deciduous tree species, and it is best transplanted from after leaf fall in winter until before new buds sprout, which gives a high survival rate. When saplings leave the nursery and are transplanted, the main branches should be moderately shortened, and the severity should not be too great; the cut wounds should be immediately coated with a preservative. Thinning branches should be the main approach; because weeping willows have a strong branching ability, the amount of thinning can be somewhat greater.

III. Different treatment and repair methods for weeping willows

1. Treatment of trunk wounds. For wounds on the trunk, first use a sharp knife to scrape the surroundings clean and level, so that the edge of the bark layer forms an arc, then disinfect with chemicals (2% to 5% copper sulfate solution, 0.1% mercuric chloride solution, original liquid of lime sulfur mixture), and then apply a protective agent. The protective agent should be easy to apply, have good adhesion, not melt when heated, not allow rainwater through, and not corrode the tree tissues; generally, lead paint is better. If a hormone coating is used, it is even more beneficial to wound healing.

2. Whitewashing the trunk. Whitewashing is also one of the important protective measures for the tree. Its purpose is to prevent and control pests and diseases, delay tree budding, and avoid sunscald damage. The ingredients for preparing the whitewash are generally: 10 parts water, 3 parts quicklime, 0.5 part lime sulfur mixture, 0.5 part salt, plus a little adhesive, so as to extend the whitewashing period of the weeping willow.

3. Repairing tree holes. For tree holes that cannot heal for a long time, we can nail battens onto the surface of the hole opening, seal it with putty and hemp-straw ash, then apply white ash latex and pigment powder, and finally press bark patterns on top or nail on a piece of real bark, so as to make the appearance more natural.

As one of the most common landscape tree species, the weeping willow is inseparably connected with our urban greening construction. It can effectively purify the city's air and beautify the city's environment, so it is also a warrior defending the city's health.