I'm in zone 5, mine dies off every year then sprouts from the bottom
up. I like to help it with miracle grow watering every two weeks, it
works. Mine are three years old and at present they look dead, in two
weeks they will be sprouting. Our warm weather is just beginning.

I brought these back from Huntersville, NC.

Penny Morgan wrote:

Yes, the new growth may take a bit longer in your zone. I'm in zone 7b and
our crepe myrtle's are just starting to really come in fully now with new
leaves. The leaves will sprout all the way from the ground to the top of
the tree. If you want to leave it, you will have a bush form of the tree.

What we do here is trim all the bottom leaves to expose the wood up to the
top of the tree. In other words, limb it up so you have a nicely shaped
canopy on top of the tree. It's really up to you how far to limb it up.
The new growth should be really soft and easy to snap off with your hands.

Good luck.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"mardab" wrote in message
m...
I planted a 9 foot crape myrtle last fall. This spring the plant seems
to be dead but is starting to sprout new growth at the base. Is this
the way this palnt grows...new growth from the ground up or does it
just take a long time for the old branches to show buds? I'm in zone
5.