Comments on: Stop Crape Murder: Don’t Cut Back Your Myrtles

By: lady

lady — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:44:53 +0000

The City of Atmore had the most beautiful Crepe Myrtles on Hwy 21 and they were kept the way they were supposed to be but the Hwy Dept. made them cut them down a few years back. I thought that was such a terrible thing because they really enhanced the highway coming into Atmore and people traveling thru Atmore to I-65.
Just my opinion.

By: David Huie Green

David Huie Green — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:07:34 +0000

REGARDING:
“How does one propagate the crape myrtle?”

I was always told, cut a piece, stick it in the ground, remember not to mow it down as it grows and you are finished.

For more detailed instructions from http://www.ehow.com/how_4480829_grow-crape-myrtle-from-cutting.html

Obtain the Cutting
•1 Cut the soft, new growth if you are collecting cuttings in May or June. From July to early fall, collect the hardwood growth. Morning is the best time to collect cuttings while the tree is fairly dormant.

•2 Use a sharp clean cutting tool to avoid spreading diseases to the plant. Pruners usually work well. Cuttings should be about five to seven inches long and no thicker than your pinky finger.

•3 Immediately, wrap the cuttings in wet paper towels and place in a plastic bag until you can get them into the planning medium. Don’t leave the cuttings in the bag long or they may mold.

Plant the Cutting
•1 Try commercial root hormone to encourage new growth, but crape myrtle will root well without it.

•2 Use a commercial planting medium or make your own from equal parts of peat and sand. Use a container that drains well and is big enough for growing roots.

•3 Insert two to three inches into the planting medium with the buds pointing up.
(there’s more)
Just remember, the growth hormone is optional and the cuttings are plentiful, get as many as you wish from my house, I never cut them back and have a sizeable one mixed with a Hawthorne out by Bluff Springs Road, easy to get to more elsewhere.

Take a hundred cuttings, if only ninety percent live, you’ll have ninety trees.

David for sharing

By: escambiamom

escambiamom — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:24:39 +0000

listening,

My friend told me to bore down around (with a metal pole or similar) the ground by the trunk in several places and fertilize them every year. Floral Tree Gardens on Hwy. 29 should be able to tell you the specific fertilizer needed.
I have really learned a lot this year about pruning from this friend.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:59:06 +0000

This is just one man’s opinion. I have crepes in my yard, pruned every year, and I am constantly given compliments on them. The ones in my yard are so beautiful, the other neighbors planted crepes to mimic them. Of course, if you don’t prune them properly, the tree will look unsitely. And I believe, once they reach a certain height (i.e. the ones pictured above), leave them alone, or you will make them look gangly. Also, keep the suckers cut back, and fertilize well.

By: Tate Mom

Tate Mom — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:05:55 +0000

Someone should send this article to the Es. Co. Public Schools. The ones at Ransom were just butchered.

By: listening

listening — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:59:08 +0000

mine are not growing or filling out very well…they are only approx. 5-7 yrs old….how do I help them?

By: bwayne

bwayne — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:45:49 +0000

David…….I propagated a few last year from our large one by hanging a lightweight container of dirt in a sturdy branch and laying one of the smaller branches in the dirt while it was still attached to the tree. I weighted it down to keep it in the dirt, and a few weeks later, it had rooted. Of course, you can do the same with a low limb close to the ground.
William……thanks for this article. I have never cut mine back at the top, but this year, I need to “shape” one that is starting to hang over our roof on one side, and I needed this info.

By: Citizen

Citizen — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:06:05 +0000

Great article William. Once again you have provided me with information that I will be able to use in Feb’. Due to the past theory that these need to be cut every year, this should open a few eyes to one of the prettiest trees you’ve ever seen in full bloom. Keep up the good work.

By: David

David — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:00:04 +0000

How does one propagate the crape myrtle?

By: Carolyn Bramblett

Carolyn Bramblett — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:13:31 +0000

Who prunes/murders the crepe myrtles for Es.Co. Public Schools? A few years ago they looked pretty awful at Jim Allen Elementary School but the ugliest I’ve ever seen are those poor ugly trees at Cordova Park Elementary School. The base of the trees look like they’ve been in the ocean and got covered in barnacles.