[grinling]

I have a twisted willow in the garden. It appears to have been pollarded/lopped before. The branches are various sizes and some are about 3m long. Should I cut all the branches off or some of them and if so where? Should I treat the ends? I would like to use the tree for fire wood in future and hubby likes how it looks.

[Goosegirl]

Willows are often pollarded so as to get long branches for basket-making, supporting plants, etc. I had a lovely Salix exigua but it self-seeded everywhere and became a nuisance. If you pollard it, you should get a nice main trunk and lots of new growth without it doing this, plus the stems should be a nice colour over winter.

[sunshineband]

We have a Salix contorta at school grown from acutting 12 years ago, which is now a large weeping tree 

You can cut branches off now, anywhere you like really to shape the tree, but just be aware that the twisted branches need a bit of space and length to be seen at their best.

PS Mine does not really have any winter colour on new growth, it is mainly brown