Ok just wanted to post a follow up. I got my new cuttings and used my new products... the perlite and dip & grow. I got a ton of semi-hard wood cuttings. Cuttings: 4-8 inch range, striped all but a few leaves at the top, used a 50/50 mixture in 3 pots of my old sand and peat mix with the perlite, poked a hole with a dibber, dipped cut tip in rotting hormone, put my cuttings in the holes, moistened soil (not too wet) damp, kept in location that sees light, but not direct sunlight. (only bad thing was due to time issues I had to leave the cuttings in water longer then I planned before I prepared them and got them set up in pots) This time I left off the bags and instead misted in the morning before leaving for work and when I got home from work in the evening. The leaves browned on me still and I was about to give up and a few days ago 2 gave me some green leaves. So I have 2 out of about 30. I guess that is good considering I have no greenhouse and can't mist them more then 2x a day. The question now is leave them alone and kep doing the same thing and let them get stronger or try to take them out of the rooting pot and into a new pot of their own? I'm leaning towards leaving them till I know if any others are going to try and throw up some green. I worry about the delicate roots and trying to separate them out w/o damage. When, or do they even need to be transferred to a new pot with a different soil?

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.

Sooty mold can often be successfully removed by rinsing with water from a garden hose. However, this will be most effective after the aphids or other honeydew-producing insects are destroyed. Sometimes sooty mold development is so severe and persistent that only time and exchange of leaves through the growing seasons will remove it all. Aphids are not especially difficult to control and non-chemical methods are usually very effective. Insecticidal soaps are often the remedy of choice for many gardeners. Various brands of insecticidal soaps may be found at just about any retail nursery or garden center. Be sure to read and carefully follow all label directions when using any pesticide, organic or chemical.

I would just slice through the roots. I think you should have started with 3.25 gallon crape myrtles. They are smaller but will establish faster and they are also fast growing anyway. Do what you are gonna do now. Dont dig them back up in the fall. I planted 2 of them last july and they are growing very well. Also, the trunks with multple branches emerging will always be like that. If you prune them down they will grow back like that. If you dont like it you ccan cut that leader out. As they grow and get bigger they will fill out. I might post a pic of mine later on tonight when i get home. Also, do you know what variety they are?