The Complicated Life of my Weeping Willow

My favourite type of tree is the weeping willow. I love how peaceful they look and, to me, they are simply dreamy and magical. I did not think that weeping willows did quite well growing here in Sudbury, Ontario since I always noticed them more down in Southern Ontario and did not see weeping willows here, although other willows do grow here. Finally, I noticed some weeping willows growing in parts of Sudbury. They were even parts of Sudbury that were close to houses and not close to water which is the opposite of the best place for a weeping willow. Once I knew that they grew well here, I wanted to have my own weeping willow. I wanted to have my own special tree that I could watch growing over the years, just like my mom has an oak tree on our property that her parents planted for her when she was a kid and which has grown over the years into a big tree. I therefore told my parents that I wanted a weeping willow for my 23rd birthday. My mom and I discussed the best place for it to be planted and it turned out that we had a perfect spot on our property.

So, for my 23rd birthday in 2016, my parents bought me a golden weeping willow. I had previously chosen the specific type of weeping willow when we were at a greenhouse buying plants and seeds for our garden and I had told my parents the type that I wanted. I specifically chose the golden weeping willow because it would grow bigger than the other type of weeping willow that I saw at the greenhouse and I also liked the shape of it better and thought that the branches, leaves, and colours looked nicer as well. The tree was already a nice starting size when we got it since it was taller than me and the branches already weeped a little bit. We planted it near a creek that runs across our property since weeping willows love water and need to be away from buildings since they grow quite large. My parents had bought the type of fertilizer that the greenhouse recommended for the hole in the ground before planting the tree in order to give the tree the best start possible. Since beavers live in the creek, we knew that we needed to protect the tree, especially since beavers love chewing down willows due to the fact that they have a softer wood than other trees. We put a wire mesh around the base of the tree's trunk that was tall enough so that a beaver could not reach the trunk.

During the winter, we were on our property and I noticed that I could no longer see my tree. When I walked over to it, I saw that it had been cut down by beavers. The snow had become high enough that it covered most of the wire mesh and it was not high enough to protect the tree anymore. The beavers had gone on top of the snow that was hard enough to walk on top of without sinking too much and were able to reach the unprotected area of the tree's trunk. I was angry at the beavers for doing this after we had taken care to give the tree the best start possible as well as the fact that I had been so excited about this tree. My mom told me that it would grow back, though. All I had to do was leave it alone and let it grow new branches on what was left of the trunk. Then I just had to choose the straightest branch that was growing upwards and cut away the others so that that one branch would grow into a new trunk. I felt so much better knowing that it would grow back and did just as my mom said. I also surrounded the tree with a tall orange plastic mesh, knowing that it needed taller protection. My tree was being set back in its growing process but I had learned from this experience.

It turns out, though, that I had more learning to do because those beavers can be very persistent and will cut down even a small willow that just has the remainder of a trunk and one tall branch. The tall orange plastic mesh was not strong enough. Since it was made out of plastic, it ended up falling down, once again giving the beavers access to the tree. The trunk is now even shorter than it was before but there are now new branches growing from the trunk once again. It is incredibly frustrating to have my tree set back again and again but willows are just as persistent as the beavers and will grow back no matter what happens. I am now currently waiting to choose which new branch will remain in order to grow a new trunk and I plan on putting a strong and tall metal wire mesh around the tree. It has been a tough process but a major learning experience when it comes to growing and caring for a tree. I am now even more excited to watch my weeping willow grow after everything that it has been through.

Cheers,
Kaylie