I feel your pain as I have also failed to get pink dabbled willow to survive. After checking with local growers my advice is to give the willow lots of water as letting the roots dry out is a sure way for kill this plant. Add a mulch around the root zone to help seal in moisture and when you water make sure the soil is soaked down to the root depth. If plenty of water is what makes your willow thrive write back and let us know. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti