if it were me ...

i would wait until it leafs out.. to insure what is dead ...

then cut off the dead stuff with proper pruning cuts ...

and then walk away ..

when was the last severe drought.. and how did you water it.. if at all ...

how big at planting .... how was it planted.. what form did it come in.. [pot/ball burlap/etc] .. is it planted at teh proper depth.. is it mulched ...

a little branch loss is not an indication of dead or dying ...

the scratch test..scratch the bark.. and find out if there is any green cambian layer under such ... if so.. its alive ... try it first on dead parts ... do not do it hundreds of times ... you will soon learn the hard dead ones.. versus the live yellowish ones ... but lets see what parts bud out...

i suspect a water issue.. so fert will not help it ... do not fert a stressed plant ...

send us a pic.. after it leafs out.. of the whole plant..

good luck

ken

Sounds like...curly willow. They grow fast. They have lots of branch dieback.
IMO, within a few short years, most look like crap - unless you prune 'em to ground level and let them 'start over' every few years.

Thanks so much for the replies! It got pretty hot last summer here in Oregon but I watered regularly. Perhaps regularly was not enough?! Everything around the tree looks healthy. I planted it from the burlap, bare root, followed directions and yes, mulched, but just about 2". I'll try the scratch test today. Thankyou Ken!

Ha Lucky_P, I guess sometimes it just is what it is? Curious though, how do you prune a tree that has an almost 3" trunk? Just lop it off at the ground? That just scares me. See how much I know about trees? (We just bought this property 5 years ago. Planting trees when we can, but so much to learn.)

I have a few, mainly because I just get a kick out of their form. They grow like a weed (like most willows), and can be messy as heck with branch drop. It's just typical, like Lucky says.

Coppicing link below and a video on willow coppicing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7wmfGqerOo

Here is a link that might be useful: coppicing

I wondered why a row of the Curlies was removed after they had gotten about 15 ft tall, and looked nice. This was in the "rich section", where there were a lot of nice new houses. It seemed like the trees were there for maybe 6 years, had nice twisted branches, then poof, nothing but the trunks barely there. They have some beheaded Pin oaks now in the yard. There is room in the middle of the yard for a tree to grow normally, but the utility wires are above the Pin oaks. I could have gotten my Grandmas house free when she passed, but the yard was small, and utility wires were so intrusive, no oak lover would settle for that if they had any choice in the matter. I may have to share this place with family, but it is deffenitely worth it. I know, too much information.