My two Willows may be dying… I need help! :(

Hi there, so I just recently tried to make a post explaining my situation and don’t know what I did but it never uploaded.. so if you do come across it, I apologize for the second post. And if not then well long story short, I was gifted two Willows in February and when it came time to pot them I thought everything was going fine. Then over the past week or so I’ve noticed the branches are incredibly weak and the leaves are browning and falling off. I realized that the pots I’ve used have no drain holes in them. I suspect my Willows may have root rot. I’m worried that if I replant them in new pots with fresh soil they wont have the strength to re-establish themselves.. And on the other hand I’m worried if I do nothing and hope the soil dried they’ll die anyway.. I’m so new to this and would appreciate any help at all! I’ve attached images showing each of the poor babies.

Willow trees grow naturaly close to lakes and in bogs where the roots are wet at all times. They even extend their fiborous roots into the water. This is a very thirsty species and I doubt they can get root rot from overwatering.

I do not know your location, growing conditions nor climate. But in the natural distribution range of this species they are not in full leaf yet. Your looks very far ahead. I think you are trying to grow it indoors and that it is the main reason for the ill health?

I checked closer. Salix is a genus of 350 different species and some of them grow in northern africa. There may be species not as thirsty as our native willow and there are definetely willows naturally in leaf right now.

So what is your location and what species do you have?

Hi thank you for the feedback! I am growing them indoors. Would you suggest I put them outdoors? Would the pots I have them in have anything to do with the poor health condition of them? Since there’s no drain holes in them. And as for the climate, I’m in mid Michigan, USA.

They should definetely be grown outdoors since they are temperate decidious trees.

I know just as much about mid michigan climate as you know about western Sweden climate. But if you still have frost nights moving a leafed out tree is not an option. Waiting for the last frost, keep it as cold as possible above freezing.

The pot definetely needs drainage after moved out. Rain can overflow the pot. It looks like plastic to me? Just drill a few holes and problem is solved.

Fair point about our climate differences :lol: , We haven't had frost here in a while so they should be good to be outside now.

About the species, all I know is that they are Australian Weeping Willows.

This is my first time with Bonsai and I wasn't aware until now how much there is to know about it. Looks like I have some research to do!

Australian tree....That brittish colony tends to name trees as they did in brittain without them not even beeing related.

This is not a salix and it is not decidious. You can ignore everything I have said and do some own research.

Agonis flexuosa
Australian-Willow is an evergreen tree that grows up to 30-35 feet tall and 20-25 feet wide12. It has an upright, oval silhouette, with strong, wind-resistant inner branches and pendulous outer smaller branches, giving it a weeping habit12. It looks remarkably like the weeping willow from a distance3. The tree is also known as Agonis flexuosa3. Willows are deciduous, weeping trees with a stout trunk, growing to about 10 m high4.
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I would be more concerned about creating a good environment for an australian tree in USA than about size and growth pattern.

Myself I am in Europe in a zone similar to usda 7, but much wetter in winter. My Australian species stays in a 5 degrees overwintering room in winter and in a hot greenhouse in summer. Without these setups they would not survive long. Not everyone has them or are prepared to do that investments for their hobby.

My recomendation to beginners is always to go for proven locally hardy species.