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Crepe Myrtle not looking so good

socrmom
10 years ago

My daughter purchased 3 crepe myrtles 3 days ago. She planted them yesterday. She said they looked fine before she planted them. She lives in Round Rock just north of Austin. Her soil is actually pretty good. Her house is situated in an area that was farmland before development.
I told her I think it's in a bit of shock. I told her to keep watering it on a regular basis and in the meantime I would try to find out what I can. So, here I am. Any ideas please.
She also said it was root bound when she took it out of the pot. She still needs to purchase and place the mulch.

Thanks!

Comments (4)

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    10 years ago

    You're right. It definitely needs water. If it were mine I'd cut it back about 20 to 30 percent to make up for small feeder roots being damaged in the transplanting which is part of the 'shock' you mention. Then lay the water hose on it at a slow trickle every other day for about 20 minutes to make sure the root ball is soaked. If the ground is dry around the tree it will wick the water away very quickly. This will have to be done for most of the summer. I have two young crape myrtle trees about that size that that's what I'm doing. My soil drains fast. Of course if the soil does not drain well the watering schedule will need to be adjusted. Crape myrtles are drought tolerant once established which means their roots will have grown out to match the top of the tree. That will take a year or two. And yes, mulch will help it from drying out so quickly. With some water the tree will perk up and look fine.

  • southernroots
    10 years ago

    When I planted crepe myrtle shrubs last fall, the first thing they did was shed their leaves. I thought they died! Luckily, they're doing great this spring. I agree that you should prune them back, so there will be less stress on them to adjust to the new location and heat.

  • greentiger87
    10 years ago

    Prune off the flower buds so that energy isn't wasted on them during establishment.

    Research shows that for most woody plants, cutting back the the leaves after transplant is a net negative. The tree will naturally shed the leaves it cannot support, but will be able to withdraw the nutrients within them before they are shed. The other important point is that the hormonal signals that stimulate root growth originate in the leaves, especially leaves that need water. Hence cutting them off is counterproductive. Wait till spring to cut off any parts of the tree that don't sprout new leaves. I suspect you'll be surprised at how much survives.

    Giving the trees shade during the establishment process is helpful, but rarely practical for in ground trees.

    Hopefully she teased out the circling roots from the pot before transplant. Air pockets in and around the root ball can cause problems - but crape myrtles are usually so tough it doesn't matter. Regardless, heavy mulch!

  • CrapeMyrtleGuy
    10 years ago

    All good advice. I've had people bring me back crapes that look like they've been dead for years. I set them in the shade, water and patiently waited and they come back to life. Crapes are tough!

    Here is a link that might be useful: CrapeMyrtleGuy