Alasdair

I have what i believe is an eared willow. I pinch out the tips on mine when they are young and soft as is needes. If you need to prune back onto hard wood cut just below a bud and seal the wound well a they will die back to at least the next bud down the branch. Branch pruning in very late winter/early spring is best as the sap is starting to flow and there will be less die back than if done in the autumn.

Al

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I can feel another "I wish that was my tree" moment coming on...
Currently studying BSc Plant Biology at the Universty of Wales, Aberystwyth