Kilmarnock willow need urgent help pls

[bridgetjonesislovely]

I have recently (Sunday) had my fence painted with a timber preseravative I suppose a creosote of sorts.

I noticed yesterday that my kilmarnock willow tree is now repidly wilting and I suspect it has brushed against the wet fence in the breeze and is now dying as i can see no signs of bugs or flies on it.

I love this tree, is there anything I can do to rescue it please??

Timber preservative shouldn't do that to a health growing tree. I would imagine that it is just suffering the effects of the drought. Willows like moisture at the roots - try giving it a couple of buckets of water.

Alternatively I hate Kilmarnock willows (sorry OP) and would get rid of it and plant something more interesting.

Thanks for the advice, I have watered it for the last 3 evenings but it's not made much difference, you will probably throw your hands up in horror but I have another one in the front garden and that is thriving despite the drought.

The only other thing that is a possibility is that a man from the council was spraying weedkiller on the other side of the fence about3 weeks ago, maybe it's had a dose of that

Maybe I should get rid of it but the thought of digging that up fills me with dread

YOU HAVE TWO!

Hmm...maybe the man from the council had discerning taste too Maybe it's too far gone.

Tell me a bit more about what it looks like -did the leaves fall off? Did it wilt and then go brown? Or just go brown straightaway?

YES

At the moment it has just wilted but to the point that the leaves look like they are going to fall off they are still green though , not gone brown just very very sad looking, and this only starting happening on Monday after the fence was painted on Sunday

Hello,

Sorry to interrupt, but I've some thoughts that may be worth investigating.

Firstly, the point about water is a fair one as the ground by fences is often incredibly arid compared to the centre of a wide border in the same garden. As well as watering, I would put some mulch around the base of the plant. Even if the willow is a gonna (for other reasons perhaps)it'll improve the soil.

I'm thinking that weevil grubs of some kind may be attacking your plant at the roots. We had a bit of an infestation last year. I lost a viburnum, but everything else pulled through thanks to some lovely nematodes (biological control.)

Only a weedkiller which is the kind used to treat paths and driveways could upset the roots of your plant, as all systemic and contact herbicides need direct contact with foliage. It depends on what you have behind your fence and your council's chemical of choice

Bellbird thanks I will try soaking the roots with water via a hosepipe I really don't want to lose it.

I have inspected for bugs or nasties of any sort and nothing

Finger crossed a good watering will save it

Are you able to post some photos of your tree, please?

Is it losing colour from all it's leaves or only those which have touched the fence?
Are the leaves looking curly?
Does the bark look ok or is it darker/ wounded/ infected with anything eg fungus?