hello ,i have recentley moved into a new house and the garden is very wet, the soil contains a lot of clay .i have been told that planting weeping willow trees will help to dry up the ground, can anybody confirm this for me and maybee tell me what type of willow is best suited to my conditions.

Sorry we didn’t get you an answer sooner!

If you have an area that is very wet for a lot of the time, only certain species of trees will grow there. You should look for riparian trees, those that normally grow in wetlands or along streams. Willows may be a good choice, and the species you select will best be determined by where you are and what the local nurseries have available.

Some other suggestions are baldcypress (a deciduous evergreen) and sycamore.

As to drying up the wet ground, trees are not likely to help much. While some trees can tolerate the wet soils and will transpire more water than some other species, one or two trees may not be enough to make much difference.