https://www.newgarden.com/notes/crape-murder

http://www.aces.edu/ucf/crapemyrtles.php

https://www.google.com/search?q=crape+myrtle+rejuvenation+pruning&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Those are 3 sites with articles on the rejuvenation pruning of crape myrtles; there are many more. Good luck!

Wow, I never thought about moving it to another spot... I figured the root ball would be impossible to get out of the ground. How big of a root ball would we have to transfer to the new spot?

I think the builder put in the wrong tree... other houses in the neighborhood have small crape myrtles and nobody has one like ours this close to their house. It grows up over the gutters on our two story house.

Thanks for the advice.

You don't have to take very much. Maybe 8 inches outside of where the clump of trunks stop. Roots grow out, so you can just cut them. You may need several people to lift it out of the ground. Just pop some shovels or mattocks under it after cutting the roots, and having multiple people step on them at one time. It's tedious work, but it would certainly be worth it.

Thanks Logan!

That must be a good hardy variety for zone 6b.

I am thinking that z6b is a typo ;). Looks similar to 'Natchez'. Most likely lagerstromeia indica x faurei hybrid.

Pretty sure I'm 6b... south of Nashville. :)

Sounds like you are borderline 6/7, just like I am borderline 7/8, otherwise, that CM probably wouldn't have survived as a tree for this long.

South of Nashville should be a solid zone 7.

"South of Nashville should be a solid zone 7."

I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't completely sure. I went to Nashville in April last year, and it didn't seem like z6. CMs planted everywhere.

I'm in Hopkinsville, in southwestern KY, about 1 1/2 hours from Nashville (we're northwest of it). We're 6B. Crepe myrtles are fairly common around here, but at least small to medium-sized ones an get killed back to the ground if we get an extreme cold snap. For example, we get down to the teens for lows occasionally, once in awhile might hit zero, but a couple of years back we had one night with an anticipated low of -9 to -11 degrees. That killed a young peach tree I'd planted the prior spring, and (I think that's what did this) busted the trunk of a beautiful young Bloodgood Japanese maple I had at a place I work (it put back from the roots; I let the suckers grow one year, then this spring picked one & cut the rest).

My point is, if I'm 6B and you're aways south of me, you may be '7A' or what have you, but even up here, we have crepe myrtles. I've got a pink velour in the backyard at home - which got killed to the ground & put back out from that same winter. This year, not so bad, wasn't killed to the ground.

Richard.

"For example, we get down to the teens for lows occasionally, once in awhile might hit zero, but a couple of years back we had one night with an anticipated low of -9 to -11 degrees."

This sounds like the winter of 2014. Brrr!

"busted the trunk of a beautiful young Bloodgood Japanese maple I had at a place I work "

That is very unlikely. Sounds like it was either planted too deep, or had mulch piled above the root flare. Also, graft union failure is another possibility, but much less likely.

"that killed a young peach tree I'd planted the prior spring,"

This also seems rather unlikely to me.

The Bloodwood was mulched but not badly as I recall, and had been in the ground maybe 3 years or so? Was growing nicely with beautiful form. What happened with the peach tree (I had one planted at each of 2 locations; one a fairly flat area, one partway up a hill), is the deep freeze caused die back. Basically the 2 trees (located a few miles apart) had to put back out new growth. The Bell of Georgia peach tree partway down a hill had been in the ground at least another year, and had the resources to do that.

The Elberta peach tree planted the prior spring in the flatter area, had grown well, tried. It put out a small amount of growth, struggled along for awhile, and finally died. I replaced it with 2 peach trees spring of 2016, we didn't have any horrendous lows, and so far this year those 2 trees are doing well.

IIRC that severe nighttime low may've been in February, kind of late winter.

Richard.

We get temperatures in the single digits here a few times a year but must be a good zone for CM because they grow like weeds here...

I'm glad too hear I'm closer to zone 7 because that gives me better plant options than 6b!