Your oak tree / unusual Christmas tree has two leaders, and I would recommend removing the smaller one at ground level. You may have keep the suckers removed if they pop out when you remove the second leader. A likely cause for the double leader is an accident (lawnmower?) when the tree was young. The two leaders probably grew back when the original tree was broken / cut off.

Also, go ahead and remove the limbs from the lower 1/3 of the larger trunk, if you like. I would do this now instead of later because of oak wilt. Some sources recommend not pruning oaks at all between February and June due to this disease.

Your crApe myrtle has been severely "crApe murdered". It's too large for the area where it is planted and should be removed from that location. If you do want to replant it, I would recommend transplanting it now, chopping it to about an inch above ground level after it becomes established (probably in a year or two), and letting it resprout. If you do keep it and chop it down as I have described, you will have to choose which trunks to keep when it grows back. I like crApes with about 3, 5, or maybe 7 trunks, but that's a matter of personal taste I guess. Practically speaking, you'd probably be better off just throwing it away and buying a new one if you you wanted one at some other location. If you want a crApe myrtle at the present location, choose a smaller growing cultivar. There are soooo many to choose from, they grow quickly, and most are pretty inexpensive.

The termite information you received is incorrect. A pile of firewood up against a house can be a problem, but a tree or shrub touching your house should not be. Many mulches can also harbor / attract termites.

oops...
"You may have keep..." should have been "You may have to keep...".

BTW, it would also be a good idea to remove / kill the turf around your tree and mulch that area. Remember to keep the mulch pulled back a couple of inches from the trunk to prevent rot. The mulch would make mowing a lot easier, be much better for the health of your tree, and look better.

i swear i can almost see the circle in the sod ....

anyway ..... dig the grass out.. in a 3 to 4 foot circle.. very carefully ... trying not to disturb too many roots ...

AND THEN SEE WHATS THERE ... before you go cutting on it ....

give us another pic.. and we can go from there ... leaving a stub at ground level is not advised ...

in this pic.. it look pretty close on planting depth.. but it is hard to say ...

to insert a pic in your post. . copy/past the HTML code ... not IMG code.. and insert it in your post while typing.. if you see it on preview.. we will see it ..

links are attached. ... using the Optional Link URL: box right below where you type ...

no personal experience with CM ... but it definitely does NOT belong there ... if you can get a babe for $20 ... just buy another.. and get rid of this one ... it frankly would not be worth my time and effort to move it around the yard and renovate it for 3 to 5 years .... if a replacement can be had for rather cheap ...

moving that large a plant.. by hand.. with little or no experience.. can be done.. but the failure rate will be 50/50 at best ... are you willing to invest 5 hours of work for those odds??? .. on the other hand.. its good exercise and a learning experience ...

sometimes there is a big difference between what CAN be done and what SHOULD be done

get us a pic of the oak w/o the grass .. and good luck otherwise ...

ken

ps: make sure there are no buried utilities before you go jumping on a shovel ...

I would remove the second trunk (the smaller one growing at an angle) on the oak. First, remove the turf around the tree and dig an inch or two (or three) down until you find the root flare, where the trunk bulges out. That should be above the soil. At this point, you will find where the second trunk attaches to the main trunk. Saw it off along the main trunk. Remove the turf for a 3' diameter circle and add 3-4" of natural mulch.

As for the crapemyrtle (not only is it spelled with an "a", technically it isn't a myrtle either so the words are run together to be proper), I would remove this as it is too close to the structure and has outgrown the space required for it to grow. After removing it I would plant a more size-appropriate evergreen shrub in its place. I would add 3-4" of natural mulch to the plantings, while at the same time keeping the mulch 6-12" from the building.

I would remove this as it is too close to the structure and has outgrown the space required for it to grow. After removing it I would plant a more size-appropriate evergreen shrub in its place.

==>>>

actually ... i would not plant anything right back there of any height ...

foundation plantings are planted to HIDE the foundation.. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION ...

if you wish to soften the corner of the house ... widen that bed .. and plant something 6 to 8 feet from the corner... and no closer ...

you have .. guessing a 50 foot wide house.. and a 2 to 4 foot bed on the foundation.. its most likely.. all out of scale .. and that is where you would start.. should you wish to redo you front landscape ...

as you drive down the street.. see what how others have done in the situation .. you will quickly note who cares.. lol .. who has done it right.. and who ... still has.. what is most likely .. the cute little tree that was planted by the builders way back when ... now planted too close to the house.. and wildly out of scale ... [yours would not be out of scale.. if it were in the middle of the front lawn ....]

get rid of it..

ken

I wouldn't get too wound up about the "correctness" of crepe myrtle, crape myrtle or crapemyrtle......since they are common names, there is no right or wrong terminology or spelling, only what is recognized, used or accepted locally.

FWIW, if any kind of validity were going to be placed on the common name, crepe would be preferrable to crape, as the term comes from the French word 'crepe', as in crepe de chine, meaning a light, crinkled fabric, which the blossoms of the plant are supposed to resemble. "Crape" is merely an Anglicized form of that word.

I don't mind how you choose to spell it (it won't offend me even if you want to spell it with a "u"), but it can be beneficial to spell it using the more-accepted/proper spelling, and it can help others in future reference situations if it is spelled consistently. Almost all professional articles and good, reliable information uses the more-accepted/proper spelling (two words and with an "a"), so it's much easier to find good info if you spell it that way. And, while using the Latin name is a fine idea, it won't necessarily get you all the articles and info you may seek. Unfortunately, not everyone uses the scientific name. Of the 174,00 articles Google pulls up for "crape myrtle", many of them are from experts and academics in the field, arboreta and botanical gardens, etc. The vast majority of the 149,000 articles Google pulls up for "crepe myrtle" are from amateurs and are generally less reliable. Only 21,700 articles were available from Google for "crapemyrtle", so that is demonstrably not the preferred spelling.

Here are some ways you can confirm that spelling crape myrtle with an "a" is more accepted/proper spelling:

There is a "Crape Myrtle Society of America" but there is no such thing as a "Crepe Myrtle Society of America" or the "Crapemyrtle Society of America"

"Crape myrtle is the overwhelming choice both in botanical sources and in other dictionary sources." - Michael Agnes, executive editor of Webster's New World Dictionary

"The first reference to crape...came in 1685. Crepe first showed up in 1797." - Agnes

"The common name of this plant is crape myrtle not crepe myrtle." - Floridata

The National Arboretum, as well as almost all arboretums, uses "crape myrtle" not "crepe myrtle"
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As for the advice to remove the second trunk below ground level, if this is done, be sure to leave the wound exposed and do not cover it back up. Doing so would encourage disease and rot to enter the tree. As others have said, an investigation of the exact nature of the root flare/trunk base could lead to more specific advice.

in re: the last two post.. BUT THEY DIGRESS ....

ken

Thank everyone so much for the advice. Ken you are correct in seeing the circle in the sod. The previous owners must've had it set up like that, but had taken out their "beds" or something when getting the house into "show condition". There were pieces of... for lack of the correct term... plastic flowerbed edging... in the garage. You could tell there were 3 pieces. 1 long one that went across the bed spanning the front of the house and two smaller ones that had, in the past, encircled the trees in the yard.

I will proceed by pruning the oak trees (and yes... my wife will hang Christmas ornaments on anything standing still... and some things that move slow enough haha) up 1/3, carefully digging the sod around the tree pictured and finding the split and removing the smaller trunk. Since I have tree gurus reading this... do I use the spray sealer sold in garden centers on the cut? I've seen the stuff in the store but never had need to really find out if it's good/bad since I haven't had to cut a branch. I will search around GW but figured since someone was reading this they could give a "yes or no" quickly.

For the Crape Myrtle (thanks for the lesson on the most accepted way to spell it -- "Crepe" was just how I am used to spelling that "word" due to my only real association with it is from cooking those fabulous thin pancakes with the same name :-D My wife is in love with those things ) I gather that simply cutting it off at the trunk will not get rid of it since one suggestion was to cut it and let it sprout back... so is there a best method for that? Simply dig up around the root ball until it can be removed? If I'm not going to replant there is there something non-toxic I could to do cut it off at ground level and kill it and leave the root ball?

Thank you again for the many responses and advice. This forum is a great resource!

Rob

Oops... should've said I'll cut back sod and then take another pic and check in here :-D

spray sealer?? ===>>>> no.. never.. nada ..

its against nature.. to spray 'healer' on a tree that can 'heal' itself ... period .. paragraph.. nuff said ...

dont paint it either ...

just let it dry.. and try to keep the soil away from it.. and mulch too ... wet can lead to rot.. insure it stays dry

i hope you do the pic BEFORE you go a cuttin ...

you will be better served investing in a $10 tree pruning saw.. rather than the healer ... see link .. should find one locally much cheaper ... if you had volume.. felco are tried and true ... for a once a year pruning job ... buy a cheap knockoff ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: ken

If by "spray sealer", Ken means mastics dâÂÂélagage (from the French), then I would not recommend using it.

robb said: Since I have tree gurus reading this... do I use the spray sealer sold in garden centers on the cut? I've seen the stuff in the store but never had need to really find out if it's good/bad since I haven't had to cut a branch. I will search around GW but figured since someone was reading this they could give a "yes or no" quickly.

=== g-ma ... he wanted a quick answer .. NO!!!!

otherwise i have no clue what type he is asking about .... does it matter what kind????

ken

Thanks again for the quick reply Ken (and gardengrandma). I can't remember the brand off-hand, but it was at Lowe's or Home Depot... it came in an aerosol can and was labeled for sealing cuts on trees. No need to waste any more of your time on details since you gave me the answer I needed... "DO NOT USE!" I'll file that info away and forget I ever saw the stuff in the first place.

I will definitely post a picture here after I remove the sod, but before I cut anything. It will likely be next week as we have family coming in to visit this weekend before he is deployed overseas another time.

Thank you all,
Rob

Evidently monsieur ken didn't get the memo.
I mean memeau.

I think this is one instance where properly dressing the wound might be beneficial. I'm often the first one to say that, under normal circumstances, tree dressing/sealer should not be used. The presence of oak wilt makes this a special circumstance. The jury is still out on this but seems to be coming down on the side to use sealer.

In a recent USDA pamphlet on Oak Wilt, they write...

"Tree paints are normally not recommended for general use, but in this instance use of these products can protect trees from oak wilt. In the North, if trees are wounded during the dormant season tree paints are not necessary, but judicious use during the rest of the year is acceptable. From Missouri to Texas, tree paint should be used immediately after trees are wounded, at any time of the year."

Here is an ISA published study that concludes that...

"Pruning paints and proper pruning are considered to be important measures to further minimize the likelihood of an (oak wilt) infection and promote tree health."

Link to ISA paper: Studies on Pruning Cuts and Wound Dressings for Oak Wilt Control

Here is a link that might be useful: Identify, Prevent, and Control Oak Wilt

hmmmmmm

From Missouri to Texas ... i wonder why it is a southern thing???

the first thought that comes to me is about winter ... and for some reason it doesnt work ...

it still grinds me the wrong way ... but whatever ... they do weird things in TX .. lol ... whats that old song ... ITS NATURES WAY OF DOING THINGS ... and in my warped world.. painting trees is an anathema .... [a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication] .. no more coffee for me.. lol ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: it even mentions trees.. lol ...

"...i wonder why it is a southern thing???"

Because the fungal spore mats, that form under the tree bark and end up attracting the nitidulid beetles, are active for a much longer time in these areas compared to more northern areas. Basically the disease is much more viral in more southern areas where moisture and temperature conditions are more favorable.

"...they do weird things in TX..."

Amen brother. LOL (Of course, being from TN, I don't have much room to talk.)

lets not start talking about TN and MI ... lol ...

ken

boy, life must have got in the way of this project.. lol

ken