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Did you know that there are both male and female pussy willow trees? And you can propagate them from a cutting which I just found out. Doug's suggestion about replanting got me thinking there must be a way to save the tree and I am going to try it.

Propagating pussy willow trees is easy. They root so readily that cut branches can simply be inserted into moist soil in summer. Roots will develop within a few weeks. A few planting tips for pussy willow trees to remember:

Take the cuttings from the new growth on male pussy willows, not the older, gray-colored branches. There's a right and a wrong end of the cutting to stick in the ground. The end that you want to insert into the ground is the end that you cut -- in other words, the bottom of the stem as it was growing in the wild.

Take a cutting that is about as thick as a pencil and at least one foot long. It needs to be long enough for a few inches to be underground (for stability), while a couple of nodes should still be showing above ground.

If you don't wish to wait until summer, bring your pussy willow cuttings inside and root them in water; then transplant outside when danger of frost is past. These trees have invasive roots. Consequently, plant your cuttings far away from septic tank fields, sewer lines or water lines.