Gift that became an obsession — Weeping Willow

Someone gave me Weeping Willow as a birthday gift and I barely knew what it was. Two years later it's my most treasured plant and I've spent more time researching it than I'd care to admit.

The key discovery was keeping a mulch-free collar immediately around the trunk — once that clicked, the plant transformed. multi-decade investment that improves year on year is what gets mentioned every time anyone visits. I keep it in a small garden with a compact or columnar variety chosen for scale which works perfectly. bare winter silhouette revealing branch structure and bark is when I understand why this plant has such devoted followers. root encroachment near drains or house foundations is the one ongoing challenge but it's worth the effort.