What to do with large Crape Myrtles
4 years ago
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At what point is Crape Myrtle Pruning, Crape Murder?
Comments (3)What you described about the multiple branches radiating around the trunk, just below where the trunk has been top cut, is a typical growth pattern for such drastic top pruning. All too often growers have already done such pruning to larger crape myrtles when they are shipped to the retail nurseries. Did your area get the recent days' hard freeze around the Easter holiday? If so the CM in question might have a lot of dead wood which needs to be pruned out. If such a freeze happened, watch the tree as its remaining buds leaf out again. Once the tree appears to be fully leafing out enough to look recovered from any winter or freeze damage; totally remove any trunks or branches which fail to releaf. Also from the trunks nearest your house, completely remove all the way to the trunk any branches in the canopy which you can clearly tell will grow to infringe on your roof. Throughout the following growing seasons feed the tree with slow release quality food, and after every week which fails to provide an inch of rain for the shrub, suppliment the tree with that much water. Over the summer let the tree bloom naturally, and do not prune off the resulting seeds in an effort to extend your bloom season to the first freeze of late fall or early winter. By letting the tree bloom by itself and by being patient if it seems to slow down in bloom presentation after the first bloom flush; the tree will be enabled to put forth effort into thickening its branches and developing its proper rooting perportions. After the tree goes dormant, depending on when temps drop low enough for that, consider the space which any branching from the trunks still invade your roof line. cut, at that time, each trunk, all the way down to the root ball, whose canopy clearly will grow to infringe on your roof line. Hopefully when you have accomplished all the above pruning you will end up with the best of either a one or three main leader trunks. Then, in early march of the next year, prune out again all brittle dead wood, brake off the remaining seed pods and their twigs. Then turn your focus onto any remaining radiating branches which are growing just beneath the previously described, chopped off trunks. Preserve only a flexible and clearly healthy branch which grows the most directly upward and toward the direction where you want the trunk to continue growing. Prune away any other branches which are growing around the trunk near the same level of the healthy upward growing branch you selected to retain. To repeat: the one branch you choose to keep growing off the end of such chopped off trunks should be the one out of the ratiating bunches which appeares to be growing most upright, and growing in the right direction for the retained branch to assume the role of developing into a continuation of the trunk. Hopefully each single branch you select to continue the remaining trunks are thick enough to survive the following winter freezes. If not you will need to wrap each and their tunks with cotton insulator wrap prior to each freeze. If the temps are forecast to drop down to a hard freeze than add bubble wrap around the cotton wrap. Just be sure to remove the plastic bubble wrap any time the temps rise back up above 33 F. degrees. The above advised action takes a lot of dilligent effort, so if you do not think the tree is worth the trouble, simply remove it, grind the stump and main roots and purchase a 10 to 15 gallon sized, 25 to 30 feet potential height grower Crape Myrtle which has not also already been such drastically top pruned-down by the grower. With any such new CM tree you plant in the area, make certain to plant it far enough from the house to prevent roof damage, and to also prune train it properly each year just as you first described above....See MoreCrepe Myrtle (Crape Myrtle) with growth problems
Comments (2)I got this same thing on a sweet cherry tree and end up chopping it down, of course it is growing out of the side of the trunk, I decided I will let it live and see if I can treat it so the avoid that nasty soot. I noticed I have alot of lady bugs on my roses and they eat those suckers. My crapes last year got black spot. I guess crapes and roses are strongly related?? I am trying a garlic, water and milk mixture to fight the fungus and bugs (I am guessing they hate the taste of garlic since they never touch any of my garlic plants. When I spray the leaves of my roses it seems to deter the bugs not sure just yet just experimenting. japanesse beetles dont' seem to be a problem, one year they showed themselves but didn't last long and didn't do much damage to anything. some people just use a strong spray of the hose to get rid of the aphids they can't climb back up once they are knocked off. I have alot of acrage and birds galore I am sure they eat the bugs and that is why I seldom have a problem with them, yet. RR...See Moretransplant large crape myrtle
Comments (8)Moni, the pool stays but it's getting a makeover! There will be a new retaining wall at the back edge (just in front of the bamboo), a new patio all the way around, new lights, new tile and new plaster. We're also going to build a pergola at one end. We did fill in the hot tub, as it would not hold water and was not in the best location for us, and the price to fix it was going to be steep. Someday we may get a portable spa. Spent yesterday outside planting the bits and pieces that had been excavated. We put in that crape myrtle. It was thinned of about four or five canes via the bobcat's rough treatment, so we got it in the ground and staked it. Also had five euonymus japonicus green spire bushes in various sizes and shapes, from one 8 foot tall, 3 feet wide to one 3 feet tall and maybe 1 foot wide. A small rose bush and a creeping euonymus were relocated, too. There were also a ton of irises that I sifted out of the rubble to plant in the new location. The only thing I lost was a walker's low catmint I'd just bought this year, so was a little bummed about that, but I can get a new one next summer. We've had some other damage from the construction, like my beautiful Japanese maple getting mangled and a small brick planting bed getting run over. Hopefully it will all be worth it when it's over!...See MoreDid he "crape-murder" my crape myrtle ?
Comments (3)Chas045 wasn't belittling you at all. He meant "it might be a draw" to prune it like that because crape myrtles bloom on new wood only. It will grow bigger branches for you and bloom better this summer. That is why alot of people and landscapers cut the crape myrtle back like that. Don't worry about it, it will be fine. You won't even notice it in a couple years, they grow really fast. It will bloom better for you, wait and see. Smile and be happy....See More- 4 years ago
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