Question
I live near Houston Texas and I have a corksrew willow tree.. It didnt get ANY leaves on it this year.. Is it dead? I noticed today that there is like a brownish colored dirt looking pile around the bottom of it and it was wet looking... PLS HELP :(

Thank you-
Candice

Answer
The way to tell if a tree is dead is to start as far up the tree as possible and scrape a small bit of bark off an outer branch near the end of the branch. If the color under the bark is green then the branch is still alive. If the color under the bark is not green--brown the the branch is dead at that point on the branch If brown continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green or reach the trunk. Try other branches until you find green. Also the branches will be flexible and will bend without breaking (snapping in to).IF you find green the brown part of the branches can be pruned off and you should get new growth next spring.  But from what you describe I would say the tree is dead. Sorry!