Advice on Cold-Snapped Crape Myrtle
Brian Benda
8 years ago
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Comments (9)
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
8 years agoRelated Discussions
bonsai potential? - Crape Myrtle rescue
Comments (6)Plants are very predictable, once you get to see how they respond to certain procedures. If you get your plant healthy & chop it back close to the ground, it will send out several new shoots - pick one on which to build your tree & remove the rest. No need to be terrified - it's a very common procedure for bonsai practitioners. Alternately, you can just cut the top of the tree back hard (early Jun) once it's growing well and buds SHOULD appear from the lower trunk. Less risky to the viability of the plant, but more risk a bud won't break where you need it. Or you can layer off the top & hope something breaks low on the trunk, so you get 2 plants from 1. Healthy trees and young trees have a very strong will to live, and will tolerate a lot if their vitality level is high (they are growing well) and your timing is appropriate. Therein lies the key - making sure your tree is strong enough (has the energy reserves) to tolerate the indignity you intend to heap on it, and doing the heaping at the right time. ;-) Al...See MoreCrape Myrtle (Tonto) in central NJ
Comments (1)I suggest planting it in the ground, not in a pot. Fertilize in spring only with 5-10-5 and wrap with cardboard the first few winters. They can easily die back until established....See MoreApril Freeze and your Crape Myrtle
Comments (6)There are hardy crepe myrtles, but even they have a tendency to die back to the ground in winters where we don't have any snow cover (like most winters?). You have to buy the named varieties for the hardy--most of them have Indian names, like Hopi. If they don't say the name and you haven't looked it up, then don't bet on it being truly hardy. I also had a woman at a nursery say it WAS one of the hardy ones, and when I researched it more, it wasn't....we kind of have to treat them as woody perennials here on the zone 5 cusp of 6. I have two regular crepe myrtles which I know are pushing it for my zone. However, they came through this nasty winter just fine because they are slow to awaken. They do catch up to about 3', but you don't get the lovely cinnamon bark and treelike form you see in Virginia or other places further south. We used to say that Richmond was the Crepe myrtle line in Virginia. Williamsburg was better for having them get big and luxuriant....See MoreGrowing Crape Myrtle?
Comments (23)Well, I don't have much info to offer so far, but within a few years I should have lots of data. Background: I live in Vancouver, WA, have south facing yard and a whole bunch of pavement around which I can plant things that will get pretty hot. Results so far: Purple Magics I got at Al's Garden Center last year have flower buds developing. I started to see the first ones probably around late July. I thought wow I will get flowers soon but it appears they take a long time to develop. It is mid August now. I feel optimistic that at least some of these will bloom before the cold season sets in. These were so cheap I scattered 9 of them throughout the yard and I figure that the ones that developed flower buds sooner are probably the better locations. (I am convinced HOT is the key. However, you do have to be careful with the leaves of ones you planted this season wilting, even if you water them well. My Cherry Dazzle appears to not be blooming, even though it is in the hottest spot in my yard. However, it lost most of its leaves last summer so it may be concentrating on building up its strength this summer rather than flowering. My Catawbas and Tuscaroras are not showing a lot of leaf growth and no flower buds. But I think they may be just strengthening themselves and may do much better next season. I bought a TON of dwarf CMs from Evergreenplantnursery. They are only about $6-12 each , although a few dollars more when you factor shipping in. I got about 5 each of Midnight Magic, Moonlight Magic, Purple Magic, and Cherry Dazzle. Also got a couple Tontos (one from Evergreen, one from Al's, and a couple of Pink Velours at Al's.) These are shorter varieties and I live in a place where the people above me have nice views so it is uncool to plant tall trees. My strategy on these is: I planted these in large containers. I will put them in the garage in the dormant season where hopefully they won't see temperatures below 25F or so. Then I will take them outside during the growing season. After about 3 years hopefully they will have trunks and branches that are big enough to withstand the winter cold waves (down to around 10F in this area) without too much dieback. The Midnight Magics from Soonerplantfarm I planted died all the way to the ground, but they have generated lots of growth this summer. My dilemma now is whether to transplant them into pots to put in the garage in the winter, or see how they do if I keep them outside. They might just die back every winter and regrow each summer, which would make them perennials. But they have only grown leaves, not flower buds, so if I want them to flower I may need to grow them inside for a few winters to get them bigger before planting them outside for good. Not much data yet but I have about 25 crape myrtles in pots and about 20 in the yard so I should get a lot of data within 2-3 years, which I will report. The good thing is even if they dont' flower much, they still have the attractive trunks and fall foliage....See MoreBrian Benda
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agolucky_p
8 years agoToronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
8 years agobostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
8 years agoBrian Benda
8 years ago
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