Thanks to TheJungle, I read the article. I took a couple of extra leaves, put one in water and one in the soil mix, so now I have 2 of each, crossing my fingers that they will take. I added a little bit of charcoal to the tree and off spring, I guess it is good for drainage along with the perlite. I removed the paper between the inner pot and ceramic pot and lifted the inner pot up onto a few rocks to get more air flow. I stuck a rod into the dirt for a couple of minutes and found it completely dry so I watered and gave it a little nutrition as well, some of the stems were getting droppy too. All of the roots look good and are hard and don't smell, however a couple of the trunks are a little soft and flaky in the middle of the stems... I was going to add bark as well, but I don't want to disturb the roots anymore, so I think I will do that in the spring or summer. I'm crossing my fingers. Thank you konni

Crepe myrtles bloom on new wood; this along with trying to maintain the height was probably the reasoning for the "topping" technique through the years. While this practice does not improve the crepe's attraction, it does not actually damage this plant either! I did a crepe myrtle restoration pruning to mine that were planted by the previous home owners at the entrance to my driveway. The previous owners would cut them to the ground every year treating them like a woody perennial. They would grow up to about 5 feet and full of blooms. The only trouble was it created a sight hazard pulling unto the street out of the driveway. To perform a restoration pruning to restore them back to what they really are-trees, you will need to implement a systematic program during mid to late winter (around end of January-early February before buds begin to swell). This will not be difficult. First remove all stubs and rubbing limbs the first pruning cycle. I would also pick out no more than 2 leaders coming from each "knuckle" to leave while removing the remaining sprouts. Be sure that the leaders to be left have a good attachment. During the growing season, pinch off any suckers and unwanted lateral growth. During the second winter, you should be in pretty good shape and be able to thin out the canopy to a level that is sustainable for the tree and more appealing esthetically. After this, your crepes should be pretty well good to go. Crepe myrtles are very forgiving so if you mess up in your restoration pruning, don't worry you can still cut them down to the ground (as suggested earlier) and they will come back. (You have some attractive trunk development so I would try to do the restoration pruning first rather than simply cut them down and start again though.) The bloom show on mine has not been negatively effected by my restoration pruning efforts. The flower show has just simply been raised up on the plants. Crepes are very fast growers, specially in the hotter areas of the south so based on your pictures, I would bet those guys that you have are not even 10 years old! You note that they did not bloom very well this year--Do you have any idea of the cultivar (if not how about a flower color)? Crepes like full sun, more sun exposure equals more flowers. I see a lot of towering pines that may be limiting the amount of direct sunlight on your crepes. Good luck.

I have a potted cedar on a south facing balcony in Toronto. I’ve never wrapped it and I turn off the irrigation system as soon as it gets below freezing. Snow does fall on it but I never really worried about making sure it was getting any more water. I’m not that much of a gardener and assumed that it went into a semi sleep in the winter and that adding water to the pot would seep down and freeze the roots. So I’ve just left it to it’s own devices. Whatever the case, it seems to have survived nicely last winter already, bursting in growth in the Spring through the Summer. This is what it looked like when I got it. In 2 years, it has widened dramatically taking up the width of the pot and its height reaches the top of the hook over that bird feeder. Just one concern that brings me here: I was hanging some light Christmas decorations and some of the leaves fell off with a light touch. Should I be worried? It doesn’t look like it’s browning or anything. I’ll get some mulch for the top soil and will pack some snow around the base.

This is not the optimal time to be re-potting. The very best time would be later in Spring, between flushes of growth, after the plant has recovered some of the energy reserves that it lost during the Winter. I am telling you this to prepare you for the worst and so that you'll have more reasonable expectations. That said, you are in a warmer zone...and that can make a great deal of difference. In other words, a Winter re-potting in your climate will be less traumatic to the tree than a re-potting at this time of year in, say, Michigan or Ontario. I would not recommend "aggressive" root-pruning. I would simply try to unwind and straighten the roots in order to keep as much as possible. Of course, you will want to remove any roots that are girdling other roots/trunk, any j-hook and strangely angled stiff roots, et cetera. If you are determined to go forward with this re-potting, follow these tips: 1) Prepare all your materials ahead of time (a helper wouldn't hurt, either). 2) Work quickly but carefully - fine-roots will dry out and die within 5 minutes of exposure. 3) A bucket of semi-warm water will help remove old soil and won't shock the roots with cold temps. 4) When you re-pot, add a little mix at a time, then use a chopstick to work the new mix into ALL the air-spaces between the roots. Be very thorough. Do not leave open pockets around the roots. 5) Orient the tree so that it is upright and balanced (not leaning one way or the other). Secure the tree to a stake that is located at the edge of the container, not against the trunk (as in the pic). The more secure the tree is, the faster the roots will establish themselves in the new mix. 6) Water the tree well with semi-warm water, then place the tree in an area that is sheltered from direct sun and wind for approximately two weeks. Check the soil moisture every three days, making sure not to let the tree become too dry - a newly re-potted plant needs to stay more moist than a fully established citrus (which should dry down a bit between waterings). 7) After two weeks, begin to fertilize again at reduced strength. Let me re-iterate, however: now is not the best time to be re-potting. Josh