Looks like it froze.

Thanks for the response. I live in Iowa and it’s a Dappled Willow or Salix Integra. It’s been there for about 6 years and I have never had any issues with it. Everything around it including the patio has been there for years. It’s a zone 4 according to the tag.

If I were to prune the dead limbs would you recommend pruning back the living limbs as well to help with the appearance?

phase one .... remove dead ..

phase two ... observe result ... and then wait a year .. to let it recover/regrow ... and then decide on shaping ...

too many peeps lately .. seem to be prune crazy ... by not thinking in tree time ... rather than our world of instant gratification ...

just prune out the dead ... and lets see how it starts filling in .. IMO

do you know how to prune trees??? ... first a good tree saw is a blessing for under 10 bucks or so ... and second.. never leave stubs that will rot.. in tree time ...

ken

ps: since you will presumably be using this once a year .. i see no reason to buy a professional grade tool ....

https://www.walmart.com/ip/7-Inch-Folding-Utility-Saw-Triple-Edge-Razor-Tooth-Portable-Saw-with-Gear-Lock-by-bogo-Brands/915337201

Great thanks for the advice! I will get rid of what’s dead and see how it reacts. Luckily it grows really fast so I imagine it will fill back in pretty quick.

No white variegation is apparent in your picture, so it may have reverted. In which case it's just a small green willow tree with some kind of problem that is causing a lot of the branches to die. Making the usefulness of hanging onto it questionable.

Are you saying this may be the first effects of disease? It did appear that it was beginning to bud when the branches died because there are small buds on the dead branches.

Nobody here is going to be able to tell you what exactly happened to your tree. Your best bet at this point is probably to clip off samples - including ones where there is still live growth, so you aren't just showing them some dead branches - and take it to your nearest USDA Cooperative Extension Service branch office.