a pic would be very useful ...

but it sounds like the foo foo grafted part died.. and you have new sprouts from the roots ... which are probably not the foo foo one you bought ...

are those leaves down low.. dappled.. or variegated.. or just green???

if they are variegated ... then you probably lost the standard ... and would have to train it back to standard form ... if that is what you prefer ...

below the box you type a reply in... use the camera/photo button.. to add a pic to a reply ...

ken

So strange, I wonder why the top part died but the bottom stayed alive. Guess I can plant this as a normal shrub in another area... it wont fit in this spot!

It looks like it may have died back to the snow line at some point. Snow is a good insulator unless it has gotten packed down hard.

reduce to 2 or 3 trunks.. and eventually down to one ... and retrain it back to a standard form ... its not that big a deal.. in tree/shrub time ... its just slo motion pruning ...

with no insult to the root mass.. and being a willow ... its got a big root mass... and its going to grow pretty fast ...

every leaf is a food making machine.. so i wouldnt go down to one trunk right now .... but i would ... if i started with three ... be down to one.. in 2 more seasons ...

since its in early fast growth ... i might not move it right now .. but on the other hand.. its a willow ... maybe you can ... if you have to... try to shade it for a week or so ....moving it would be stress enough... but burning off all the leaves.. might not be helpful ... perhaps fall would be a better time to move it ...

in my z5 MI ... we are about 6 weeks from the real heat of summer... and now is about the latest i would move stuff ... just enough time to get the roots pumping.. after cutting a bunch of them off ..

else.. i would wait until fall .. after the heat of summer ....

perhaps your summers arent as hot as mine.. and you ought to just wing it ... if so.. go for it ...

as to pruning... take a look at the pix at this link.. and see what you can do with it.. other than standard form.. or leaving it to its natural inclinations ... btw.. i wouldnt be surprised.. since its in the willow family.. that you cant easily root cuttings ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hakuro+nikishi+dappled+willow&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

This thing gets HUGE just beware. I can't even imagine it as a standard.

Ok I think I'm going to give this a go then... trying to re-train. May be above my skill level but I'll see what I can do.

Should I cut all of the dead parts up top? Not really sure where it's still living and what's dead. I know at the very least the top branches are all dead but how far into the trunk I don't know.

If I had a little more width, I might keep it as a shrub but I have a lot of height where it can spread freely, not so much width.

just saw a couple driving around the area... in my z5 .. plus a coldish spring.. they are currently going nuts ... soooo anything that is brown.. is dead ... cut it out.. a good tree saw is better than a lumber saw ... or a sawzall with a tree blade ... its the big teeth that matter ...

i can usually find them around 10 to 15 bucks: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cheap+folding+tree+saw&t=ffcm&ia=products

listen.. its an aggressive growing willow.. its a great plant to learn and practice on .. without the standard... its what i call a run it over with the truck shrub ... you can barely kill them ... so its the perfect plant to learn on ...

im not sure.. but it might be one of those you could basically cut to the ground every year.. and still have a 3 or 4 foot shrub ... but research that yourself ... or someone will chime in ...

in other words... go out there and teach it a lesson ... and dont worry about it ...

ken

Ken is 100% correct. And even with all of that, I STILL took mine out because it finallly got to be about as big as a house. The rooted base was at least 12' across.

Awesome, thanks everyone!

trying to re-train. May be above my skill level but I'll see what I can do.

==>>>

was just reviewing this ... you already know.. it can die to the ground and recover.. so even if you totally screw it up ... you can cut it back to the ground again.. and start over.. the perfect practice plant for pruning ...

you ought to be a pruning wizard by the time you are done with it ... lol .. or at least get over your fear.. of teaching a bush a lesson ...

a good pruning saw.. and good hand shears would be a good investment .... go cheap on the saw ... since you wont use it all that much.. but invest in a good pair of hand shears .. as they are a god send in the garden ... good ones fit your hand.. right or left ... and are miles above dollar store versions ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=folding+pruning+saw&t=ffcm&ia=shopping

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hand+shears&t=ffcm&ia=shopping

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1823190/what-do-use-for-pruners-secateurs#n=32

and you are welcome ...

Like other willows these can be managed by cutting them back hard every winter (once well established), it is not necessary to let the top reach full size.