Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Weeping willows, water and how much?

I've heard that weeping willows will help dry up a wet area. Does anybody know how much water they use per day? Can that figure somehow be related to trunk diameter or size of the willow?

While it looks nice, I'm trying to determine if the weeping willow on the island will cause problems for me down the road. It has a trunk dia of approz. 10" this year. My pond is a water table pond, and in the last month it's dropped 18".

I dont remember how much they drink per day,but it was alot.Several thousand gallons,I think.I do know that EVERYONE around here cuts them off thier ponds because of how much water they suck up.
Being in a drought isnt helping us much in 100+ heat every day either.

Here in the east, its not an issue but where it gets way hot and way dry I am sure it could be a factor. Weeping willows are beautiful though IMO.

I'm no expert but I also have a weeping willow. It is about 8 years old grown from a twig. It grew to 8 inch dia in the first 2 years then a beaver ate it to the ground. It came back as a bush. I cut all but three branches which grew a three trunk tree that has reached about 40 ft in dia and about that tall. For some reason half of it died this year. I just cut the dead half off of it. You can feel it raining on you during the summer. I have seen no real difference in my 1 acre pond level sense the tree has matured or before we had it. I am also on a water table pond so it goes up and down with the table. I have just installed 2 bald cypress beside it on each side so when it dies they will be big enough to take it's place.

Scott, if your ponds level is dictated by the water table, the tree's water usage won't matter. Also, if the "wet" area is due to the water table, the tree won't help either.

So, Rainman, to cut or not to cut? In the grand scheme of things, 1,000's of gallons really is a drop in the bucket, BUT, that's 1,000's of gallons of water that is coming out of the pond and has to filter back in somehow...

More details, please!

Scott, do you have a water level comparison hole? A covered 8" hole would give you a way to determine how your pond level reacts to evaporation, run-off rises, etc. Seems to me if your pond can recover lost water quickly from the table, Willows sucking up water would allow fresh water to seep in and freshen the pond.

FWIW, when I had my dam repaired, the builder did all I asked of him, but he refused to build a small island for a willow tree. After I complained that the island he built was 2 feet below the surface, he smiled and said he knew I would have been unhappy with both the water loss and the willow control later-----he was right.

I have no idea how much water a willow takes. However, I once talked to Lusk about weeping willows. I believe he said that weeping willows are not invasive. Common willows are.

How invasive? About 10 years ago one of my forage ponds dried up. It had a willow on one side. I was walking around and noticed a small willow on the other side, about 50 ft. away. When I bent to pull it, I found that the root system had come from the other tree, under the pond, and was sprouting there. That's when I got real serious about killing the tree.

Last weekend, I pulled up about 50 small willows around one of my ponds. I have to do this several times a year. The closest willow tree is over 100 yards away in a neighbors silted up pond. As I drive back roads, I often notice bunches of willows and cottonwoods. If I jump the fence, and I sometimes do, I always find an old pond/stock tank that is dry.

I planted three willows around the pond (one on the penisula) and they look beautiful. In comparison to other pond owners I work with when they complain about water levels each year, mine is no lower than theirs. My trees are getting quite large and look fine, wouldn't cut them down. I am allowing growth some bushes and such( around the edges of the pond and will maintain height and width (it gives fish good hiding places). The bushes aren't willow as I posted them way back when I posted the pond and no one came back with what they were but they are small twig/tree looking growth (may be from the 13 trees that used to sit where pond sits)...who knows.

All I know is my mom talked me into letting her plant a Weeping Willow not too far from the trout pond. (My parents live in an apartment above my garage when they are not in Florida). It's not a problem water wise as I have excess water coming out of the trout pond anyway. Interestingly I can see some pink roots in the trout pond even though the tree is 20 to 25 feet from the pond.

The problem is it's now getting so big it is blocking my way to the pond behind the trout pond vehicle wise even though every year my dad tells me it won't get that big. Dad it's as tall as the house now and house is 2 1/2 stories high! Are you kidding me Dad!

Not to ruin the excitement of raining trees, but that would be aphids disposing of their bodily waste upon you. Cheers

(no way....really???)

But it's high in vitamin E!

No joke! The aphid thing is true. They love willows.

Never park a car under a willow for an extended period of time. That gummy substance is the devil to get off the windshield as well as the rest of the car.

Willow infestation in creek systems in eastern Australia has become a major environmental
problem. In south central New South Wales, various willow species, including weeping willow
(Salix babylonica), have spread along creek systems and, in many locations, now occupy the
stream banks, floodplains and stream bed. The government owned corporation, Water for
Rivers, commissioned a two stage project to quantify the net impact on evapotranspiration of
removing willow trees from creeks used to transport irrigation water. In stage one of the project,
evapotranspiration from the stream bed and banks with and without willows was modelled over
a 12 year period (1986 to 1997) using the Penman-Monteith equation. However, lack of
literature on willow stomatal behaviour meant willow water use was only simulated within broad
confidence limits. Rainfall interception, and soil and surface water evaporation were also
modelled. Predicted mean annual evapotranspiration, per hectare of willow projected crown
area was 1250 to 1900 mm year-1 (12.5 to 19 ML ha-1 year-1) across a range of assumed
stomatal responses to vapour pressure deficit (VPD). The simulated net water saving from
willow removal was in the range -5 to +9 ML ha-1 year-1 of willow projected crown area,
depending on stomatal behaviour and the proportion of willow crown area shading water
compared to dry creek bank.

Source: http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/willows/docs/Quantifying_water_savings.pdf

I'm constantly pulling willows out from the ground around my pond. I will be breaking out the sprayer this week to get 'em before they go dormant for the year.

If I didn't stay on top of them, pretty soon I wouldn't be able to see my pond.

I've consistently lost about 2" of water per week throughout the summer months. Thinking it was the inactive beaver holes I filled them with bentonite (400#'s) to no avail.

Then reading about how much water Cottonwoods and Willows can "use", I decided it was time for this big Willow "straw" to go.

Now gone, I'm only losing about 1/2" per week, haven't run the well for 45 days, and cleared another nice area around the pond.




The big straw!


Beaver den exposed


All cleaned up!


I have plenty more around the pond but a lot smaller and less laborious to remove. And I do realize there are many different factors leading to water loss but I can't help but think this was a contributor.