"HealingMindN" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I'm glad I found this group. I have 3 crepe myrtle, 1 Japanese elm,
and 1 Saphire dragon that were in pots for years. Now that they are in
the ground, they don't want to grow anymore. They've been in the
ground for at least 3 or 4 years. I give them blood meal, acidifying
plant food, and aerate their roots every year. I also feed their roots
with those hammer in type food pellets at the same time I aerate them.
They all get new leaves and flowers, but they don't want to grow up;
it's as if they've been bonzai'd. I was thinking of shooting them up
with butyric acid, but I'd like to get expert advice before I try
anything drastic.

I grow Crepe Myrtles without trying. My Crepe Myrtles grow children
*everywhere* that we pot up and give away. They grow like weeds (not that
I'm complaining) and all without the first bit of fertilizer/food. We prune
every other year to keep the one closest to the house managable (under 30'
tall) but the others we leave alone.

The youngest of them, 3 year old trees sprouted from the big/old tree, have
grown from an approx. 8" single stem to huge, bushy, 6' tall trees that are
prolific bloomers. I have single trunk Crepe Myrtles as well, ones I
purchased in 15gal pots this spring, and while they don't bloom as
prolifically they grow at a pretty fast rate and have larger blooms than the
"wild" ones.

--
Tara