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.

On 8 May 2003 22:34:00 -0700, (mardab) wrote:

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.

There is a term "root hardy" for plants that will die back above
ground and regenerate from the roots. Many crape myrtles are in this
class. In my zone (which I used to believe was 8, and now appears to
have been re-assigned to 7-something. Maybe), crape myrtles are all
over the place. During a very hard winter, some plants/trees died
above ground, but sprouted from the roots the following spring.

In this area, it is recommended that sprouts and suckers should be
trimmed off mature trees. If the climate is such that new growth will
be the main plant for a year, of course you'd let it alone and let it
be a bush.

Crape myrtles *are* slow to leaf out. Mine just began a couple of
weeks ago, way behind other deciduous trees in the area. I'd never
noticed until someone posted here that they remained bare so long.

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.

I'm in Connecticut and would love to try and grow a Crape Myrtle here. Can
anyone suggest a dealer or nursery where I may order one?

Judi

"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.

I'm in Connecticut and would love to try and grow a Crape Myrtle here. Can
anyone suggest a dealer or nursery where I may order one?

I live in NYC and have it since 1989 and still going strong. Pratically ignore
it and let nature water it and each July comes in gorgeous color and also has
terrific Fall color. Do not buy any from a Gainsville, Florida nursery. They
all died on me, but they were the dwarf type. Try Spring Hills nursery...there
aare so many that offer them these days. Do a Google search for more info.