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We have a small (about 5' tall) weeping willow tree we bought from a home improvement store. It was planted in our yard about 2 years ago. There have been a few new branches that have grown, plus the leaves appear healthy going by this and other sites I've looked at.

My question is this: we have not been regularly watering it during dry spells, and this past dry spell has been especially dry. Would ensuring it has plenty of water encourage new growth, or should I prune or fertilize it to promote more growth?

Joshua Nurczyk
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Water, water, water for the first year or so. Once the tree is established (thriving) you can do as you have been. Be sure to water the area around original root ball to a bit beyond the hole in which it was planted. Fertilizing this zone (and a bit beyond too) will speed up this process, but fertilizing isn't essential.

Roots just meander 'any ole which way'. Ones that don't have water die. Ones that don't get oxygen die. Roots are stupid. They don't really seek out water or minerals, even though the end result is something like they did.

BTW, there are leaky bags available that seem to do a nice job of continually watering new trees, if you prefer to just hook up the hose to refill the bag every few weeks.