If you don't prune your corkscrew willow, you'll be dealing with a monster within just a few years. Above ground, the winding branches stretch up to 8 meters towards the sky, while the long root strands do the same underground. You can find out how to completely remove an oversized Salix matsudana here.
How do I remove a corkscrew willow?
To remove a corkscrew willow, first cut the tree and expose the root ball with a spade. Use a hoe to remove soil from the roots and cut through the thick root strands. If necessary, pull the stump out of the ground using a towing vehicle.
Preparatory work
In order to bring the strenuous project to a bearable level, well-considered preparation makes a valuable contribution. This includes choosing the best possible tool for removing the powerful root strands. How to do it right:
- At the lecture, cut or saw off the corkscrew willow down to the ground
- Mark the route of supply pipes in the ground with stones or stakes
The following tools should be available: a spade, a digging fork, a saw and a hoopoe hoe. In particular, the hoopoe hoe (€39.00 at Amazon) makes the work noticeably easier. As a symbiosis between hatchet and hoe, the tool takes on the strongest roots.
How to remove corkscrew willow with stump and stem
It is an irrefutable fact that every willow will sprout again as long as its roots are still in the ground. The radical pruning is therefore only the overture of the core work. This is how you finally eliminate the corkscrew willow:
- Use the spade to expose the root ball as much as possible
- Then use the beak (narrow side) of the hoe to remove the soil from the roots
- Cut a root strand with the sharpened hatchet
With the next blow, you turn the hoopoe hoe over in a matter of seconds so that you can lift the rhizome out of the ground with your beak, without any heavy soil on it. Dig up the root stalk itself completely. If space allows, place a chain around the stump and pull the root ball out of the ground with a towing vehicle.
Hammer off small roots
So that you only have to attack the thickest root strands with a hatchet and hoe, first tap the rootstock with a hammer. The smaller roots detach themselves and are simply dug out.
Tip
The removal of a corkscrew willow must be completed by the beginning of March. The Federal Nature Act provides for protection of shrubs, hedges and trees from March 1st to September 30th. The purpose of this regulation is to protect breeding sites within all types of trees. During this time, only maintenance cuts of a maximum of one third are permitted.
