# Crape Myrtles



## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

I transplanted some Crape Myrtles today. Some had volunteered under the mother plants in my flower beds. I was able to set out more than a dozen plants - they all bloom pinkish-red blooms.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

OH I hope they grow for you I tried transplanting some of the neighbors volunteers a couple years ago but nothing worked here. Course I probably didn't do it right.


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

How nice- I love crape myrtles, some day I want some of thedark red ones.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I love crape myrtles. We had them all over the place when we lived in GA, but it's too cold for them here.


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Well, I'll let you know how these do. Last year, I transplanted one and it took off and bloomed all summer to boot!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I stole one several years ago along side the road out here. I yanked it out with my truck and threw it in the back, soaked it in a 5 gallon bucket of water while I dug a huge hole and planted it. It is now easily 20 feet tall and is one of the cool ones with the shaggy peeling bark with 25 or so multiple trunks coming up. I never chop mine off at the top like you are supposed to, so have several really nice crepe myrtle trees. They are by far my favorite tree, one day I am going to have them lining my drive. 

Right now it's a little like being in the 70's around here, me the tree hugger threatening husband with his life while he wants to cut down trees for his new blasted (to put it politely) saw mill! Vicki


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## txdana (Feb 26, 2010)

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I am planning on getting dairy goats and have been lurking on this site for months. Imagine my suprise to find this topic as I am the manager of a nursery here in east Texas. I have been a Texas Certified Nursery Pro for 20 years so maybe in exchange for all the goat info ya'll are teaching me I'll be able to maybe help with plant questions.
Crapes are easy to transplant... just make sure you cut about a third of the top off when doing so to compensate for the roots you cut while digging.

Michelle, I wish you were closer as we are one of the biggest growers of the dark red varieties in the state.

Nice to meet you all, Dana


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## Aja-Sammati (Oct 26, 2007)

No wremember, you tree hugger, Vicki, that proper forest management requires thinning, which doesn't happen when you supress forest fires- boy can I take some ugly pictures of what happens when you don't thin or allow burns...our town almost burned down the weekend of Hurricane Katrina due in part to this. Now go back and chain yourself to a tree 

I wish I were closer too, Dana! Welcome to the list! Most of the crepe myrtles around here are white an pink...nice colors, but I like contrast!


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## luvzmybabz (Sep 15, 2008)

By the way Vivki my husband was wondering when we drove down along 150 there were a bunch of newly mulched piles along the road is this just where theymuclched every few trees or what? I actually got a few nice pictures of roads and trees while I was in the area to use. I love OKlahoma but trees are just missing around here I was amazed at the number of logging truck we saw while we were down there. I had not seen them in forever, since I lived in CO. By the way if you hugged 20 trees a day I think you would be hugging until you were 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Kasi,
Those mulched piles are dead pine trees. A couple of years ago they widened Hwy 150 going to Coldspring and trimmed LOTS of pines alongside the road way way back, then last summer we had a pine beetle infestation hit the heat stressed damaged trees and it killed all of them. Hwy 150 was lined with huge dead pine trees. They came through and cut all those dead pines down and mulched them onto the side of the road.

I love crape myrtle trees. I have 19 all over my yard. I have light pink, dark pink, red with the little yellow centers, white, lilac and purple. 

I didn't get them trimmed last year and this I don't have them all cut back. 

Hello Dana. Your knowledge will come in really handy on here.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Oh Dana, maybe a barter! Nubians for plants?  vicki


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## deJardine (Apr 29, 2009)

I just won an ebay auction of 400 CM seeds... I will post my extras when I get them -- don't think I will need 400 CMs! Lol.


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## txdana (Feb 26, 2010)

Yeah Vicki, nubians for plants would be nice. It would have to be a lot of nice plants for those nubians of yours. And the nubians, they'd be saying "plants for nubians" literally... like for dinner!


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

I've never heard of plants coming up from the Crepe Myrtle seeds. I thought you had to have plants or root cuttings from the tree.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

We have seedlings everywhere. 
GRRRRR


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Wonder why none ever come up here. I'll have to try putting some in a pot.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

yes! Try them in a pot- lay on a moist bed of tamped potting soil (no weed seeds) and cover very lightly with a sprinkle of soil and place in plastic bag at about mid 70's. About 2 weeks of even temps and even moisture and you will have more than you know what to do with. Failing that I will start potting ours up instead of pulling them like weeds and get them a year old and send them around. Our 'dwarf' which are not really just not the tree sized type come up more often than the normal full sized variety. We get a full range of color from palest lilac to the dark watermelon color but of course you don't know that for about 2 years. I would like to have some of the really red ones as well but feel silly buying something that I have as a weed!!!

Lee


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Wish I had your weed problems, Lee. :biggrin


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## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

I had 6 out of the ten that I transplanted to live. I am wondering if you can root the sprouts that come up from the base of the tree. I would like to plant a few more. The ones I planted volunteered from the seed.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Tim rooting hormone is your best friend. Yes you can yank up crepe myrtles, using root hormone just put it into moist soil and let it grow, I use the edges of my grey water lines to start plants like this.

And yep, I am going to start some of the deep blood red ones also (crimson), I just love them...my favorite nursery has them saw them yesterday driving by.

Chris same here, I have never had any volunteer from seed, just root layering. Vicki


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## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

WELCOME E.Texas ..Dane ,it's good to see another E.Texan and I am in Tyler 
I love Myrtles and I have all colors,they do come up from seed as I have one hot pink that came up in my chicken pen and it's now about 1 foot tall and blooming .
Pink is the only color that has come up from seed for me and I have about 5 that's pink.


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## cheesemoose (Jun 23, 2010)

ssume CM safe around goats


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## Lauralynn (Mar 19, 2009)

Oooohh my very favorite tree. Mine have bloomed excellently this year. They even started blooming early and are in full bloom. Must of been all of the snow we had last year. Glad it was good for something besides making more work for us.

I am lining them up across the edge of my backyard so it's a divider between the field and the yard. Now to convince dh that he needs to remove the pens which are IN the backyard and put them out in one of the fields. Behind the crape myrtles. I want a crape myrtle fence. This is in pink but I love the dark purple and reds. Can't wait to plant some of those.


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