rooting crape myrtle suckers
joe_n_sc
17 years ago
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georgez5il
17 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Crape Myrtle Roots - How do they grow?
Comments (3)While some plants can be said to have deep roots and some shallow, most plants - be they trees or shrubs - grow roots in the top 18-24 inches of soil, out to their drip-line and beyond. How far beyond is a matter of the species, the variety, the conditions under which it is growing - soil, water availability, etc. - but generally, you will get feeder roots out as far again. Some trees do have roots that can run from one side of a lawn to the other, but they are exceptions. I have no specific knowledge of how CM roots grow, but would expect that it was more down than out, within reason - the larger the CM, the more the root spread to be expected. Since CMs grow more up than out, and since their suckering is usually a matter of new shoots coming up from the base of the plant and not from roots many feet away in the lawn, I think, as long as you are planting at a distance of 3-4' way from the retaining wall, you should be fine planting one of the smaller CMs in the bed. One of the large, older CM varieties might be more problematic, but since you say you want a dwarf or small one, I would go for it. If you are REALLY worried about the stability of the retaining wall, then I would avoid all trees or shrubs in the planting bed, and stick with perennials - 99% of them don't have roots that are invasive....See MoreIf crape myrtle cutting has new growth, has it rooted?
Comments (3)nless you stuck it in clay, you shouldn't rip off any new roots. If in a loose media you shouldn't have any issue. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell just by top growth. Many plants have enough reserve food/moisture to push a little growth even before roots have struck. I once saw a cut red maple log about 18" in diameter sprout a 2' long shoot, that didn't die until nearly a year after it was cut, without a single root on it, just from what was stored in the log. You have to tug on it. GENTLY....See MoreWhat is the soonest time that a Crape Myrtle can root by cutting
Comments (1)it will take.. as long as it takes.. in the conditions you provided ... did you research what type of wood roots [new wood.. year old wood.. or old wood??] ... and what time of year to take cuttings ... or are you completely winging it???? i am surprised you couldnt get a general answer thru google ... though i do understand that you are asking for personal experience ... lightly tugging will NOT rip off new roots ... besides.. you dont need to pull it completely out... a cutting with no roots will slip right out of the media... stick it right back in ... if there is resistance... and the media starts to come with it.. you PRESUME roots are forming ... your media should not be so compacted.. that you rip off roots ... next time.. you might want to sterilize you media in the microwave ... your container with bleach .... and clean your plants BEFORE enclosing them ... prevention is much easier.. than fixing it all later .... trust me.. been there.. done that... ken...See MoreTransplanting a Crape Myrtle (sucker) Volunteer
Comments (10)Patty ~ Although the volunteer is in my neighbor's yard, its only 4ft from our tree b/c our tree is just inside the fence. There are a handful of volunteers that I've removed at least 5ft from the trees, and each time, I have to bust through a monster-sized root (at least as wide as my thumb) to separate the baby from the mama. These are definitely suckers. I actually love crape myrtles, but we've been trying to get rid of the existing ones b/c they are entirely too close to the fence and the live oak. The branches scrape alley traffic and have forced the live oak to grow lopsided. We can't "dig up" the crapes b/c their bases are about 18" across and that's just too much for us to tackle. I'd really like to save at least one of the babies and plant it in an area of the yard where it'll have enough room that I can let it be itself. But I'll talk to the neighbor about saving the one she mowed and moving it my yard a couple of wks after I separate it from the mama (using shipp53's suggestion). ~ Amy...See Morejoe_n_sc
17 years agobgr0807_yahoo_com
13 years agoAdrift-in-beauty
10 years agocalistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
10 years agoHU-480097101
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