Weeping tree identification, from the leaf, the bark and the graft

Big weeping tree by water: weeping willow

The large, round, curtain-like tree on a pond bank is almost always a weeping willow. The NC State weeping willow profile describes a broad, rounded, weeping tree 30 to 40 feet tall and as wide, with linear to lance-shaped leaves 3 to 6 inches long and ½ to ¾ inch wide, finely toothed, light green above and grayish-green beneath, and smooth reddish-brown to yellowish-brown twigs. It comes from China and has naturalized in North Carolina. No other common weeper combines that size with such narrow leaves.

Kilmarnock willow is the small one. The RHS Kilmarnock willow page describes a weeping form of goat willow only 1.5 to 2.5 m tall and wide, usually top-grafted onto a straight stem, with large grey catkins carrying yellow anthers that open before the leaves, and oval rather than narrow leaves. A small dome of hanging shoots on a bare stem, with grey catkins in early spring, is this tree. The willow page covers the other willows.

Weeping with spring blossom: weeping cherry

A weeping tree covered in pale pink flowers before any leaves appear is a weeping cherry. The NC State Japanese weeping cherry profile describes light pink single or double flowers in hanging clusters in early spring, lasting about a week, on a tree 15 to 40 feet tall with slender pendulous branches. The bark is coppery and marked with lenticels, and gray plates peel away as it ages. NC State notes that it is grafted onto sweet cherry (Prunus avium) rootstock at 4 to 5 feet and that growth below the graft does not weep. Look for a change in bark or a swelling at that height. The cherry page separates the main cherries.

Smooth gray bark or white bark: weeping beech and silver birch

Weeping beech builds a dark, tent-like mound. The NC State weeping beech profile describes a tree 35 to 50 feet tall whose main branches either run out sideways and then drop sharply, sometimes to the ground, or spread from a broad crown with drooping side branches. Leaves are glossy, hairless, 3 to 6 inches long with a wavy edge; the bark is thin, smooth and dark gray, wrinkling like elephant hide on old trunks; and the slender zigzag twigs carry narrow, pointed buds. Smooth gray bark under a weeping crown settles it. See the beech page.

Silver birch weeps in a lighter way. Its scientific name, Betula pendula, refers to it, and the Woodland Trust's silver birch page describes elegant, drooping branches on a tree up to 30 m, small triangular toothed leaves, and white bark that peels like tissue paper and turns black and rugged at the base. White bark plus hanging twigs means silver birch, wild or planted; the birch page covers the other birches.

Weeping conifers: hemlock and Norway spruce

Weeping evergreens are usually cultivars of hemlock or spruce. The NC State eastern hemlock profile describes glossy needles about ½ inch long, each on a slender stalk, with two pale bands underneath and small cones about ¾ inch long at the twig tips. It lists the weeping 'Sargentii' at 10 to 12 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide, and 'Pendula' as a low shrub about 2 feet tall. Weeping Norway spruce has stiff, four-sided needles up to an inch long and cones 4 to 6 inches long; the NC State Norway spruce profile lists 'Pendula' at 12 to 15 feet, narrow and weeping. Half-inch needles on little stalks with two pale bands beneath mean hemlock; four-sided needles up to an inch long mean spruce. The hemlock page covers the wild trees. For upright firs, see fir tree identification.

Small garden weepers: laceleaf maple, mulberry and katsura

Laceleaf Japanese maple forms a low mound of finely cut foliage. The NC State threadleaf maple profile describes a shrub or small tree 6 to 12 feet tall and 9 to 15 feet wide, with opposite leaves of five to seven toothed lobes cut to the base; it was formerly called Acer palmatum var. dissectum. Lacy, opposite leaves on a low weeping mound mean this maple. See the Japanese maple page.

Weeping mulberry is a small, umbrella-shaped tree. The NC State white mulberry profile lists 'Pendula' as dwarf and weeping, 6 to 10 feet high, and describes white mulberry leaves as glossy, toothed and unlobed, mitten-shaped or three-lobed, often on the same plant. Never eat a fruit on the strength of a web page or an app.

Weeping katsura is rarer. The NC State katsura profile lists 'Pendulum' and 'Morioka Weeping' as weeping forms of a tree with heart- or kidney-shaped leaves whose fallen leaves smell of caramel or burnt sugar in autumn.

Using a photo

Take two photos: the whole tree, to show the weeping shape and any graft on the stem, then a close shot of a leaf or needle spray. Tree Identifier names a tree from one photo, and weeping willow, silver birch, European beech, eastern hemlock, Norway spruce, Japanese maple and white mulberry are in its Collection. It names the species, not the weeping cultivar, and shows no confidence score or alternatives, so check its answer against the leaf and bark in the table above. You can ask the follow-up chat how the weeping form differs from the upright species. For other crown shapes, see how to identify trees by shape.