Question
I live 30 miles west of Boston and I have a willow that is over 50 percent dead in my back yard.  It is located next to a stream that flows in the spring but drys up in the summer.  The soil is mostly loam with clay underneath.  The roots have been somewhat cut over the years - 8 years ago a septic line was put in that ran past the tree (20' away from it - 3'deep) and 6 years ago the stream was dug deeper (20' away on two other sides of the tree - 12" deep).

The tree has been in a slow decline for a long time and now shoots are starting to emerge all over the trunk.  

Is there any saving this tree?  If I cut it to the ground will it start to grow over again?  What do you suggest?

Thanks in advance!
Rob

Answer
The willow likes water and it got used to the steam being close and when the stream bed was dug deeper the water table at that site went down and the willow's roots could not reach them. This is more than likely what is causing the die back. I would prune out the dead limbs and let the new limbs grow next summer you can prune them back and select the branches that you want to become the new tree. The root system will adjust to the new conditions as the new tree grows. You can cut it all the way back to about a 12 inch stump and let it sprout from there but I would wait until maybe early March  to do this, say .