Best Time to Transplant?

My mother has several small to about 4 ft. crepe myrtles that have started near older plants. I would like to transplant these smaller plants along the drive and around my newly constructed house. First, when is the best time of year to transplant them. Second, how do I go about it to best insure the transplant works and last, when is the best time of year to thin out a crepe myrtle?

-- Vickie


Anne's Response:

Prune and thin out crepe myrtles before they begin to put out new spring growth in April. The small crepe myrtles may be root suckers from the parent plant or they may be seedlings. Rook suckers will be identical to the parent plant; you can gently remove soil until you find the root system of the plant you want to move to determine whether it is a separate plant grown from seed or a plant that has sprouted from a damaged root of the parent plant. If the plants are seedlings you have no idea what color they will be or the ultimate size of the plant. In either case the plants can be moved in January or February.

Promoting Crepe Myrtle Growth

I bought a new home in October of 2007. The builder put in a 12 foot Crape Myrtle near the front of my home. As is typical of builders, they did not prep the soil or do anything but dig a hole and stick it in. In the Spring I put in some Azaleas and I added some garden soil to the dirt around the Crape Myrtle. I also put some of the Bayer Feed and Protect on the top of the soil. My problem is that it has not bloomed. I looks healthy to me. Is there anything that you would suggest that I do in the Fall to promote growth and blooming for next year? I have thought about digging away some of the soil and adding some peat and better soil and fertilizer. Help!

-- Linda


Anne's Response:

Crape Myrtles seem to do well in unamended soil so if the plant leafed out this spring and seems generally healthy I would not worry about the blooming. It sometimes takes a year or so for the root systems to develop on a large transplant and plants often postpone blooming until a root system develops. You may find that the combination of crepe myrtle and azaleas is not that beneficial to the azaleas. The azaleas need more shade than crape myrtles provide in winter and crape myrtles are not that happy with supplemental watering in a dry fall when azaleas may need more water to produce good blooms in the spring.

When to Plant Crepe Myrtles

Dear Miss Anne,
Could you tell me when the best time is to plant a sprig of a crape myrtle tree? Also, I was wondering if you knew how to dry out hydragaena blooms. I appreciate your help and enjoy watching you on News14..the one for you. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Terri


Anne's Response:

Cuttings are made from crepe myrtles in June and July before the wood hardens off. They do have to have a strong root system if they are to be be planted in the ground the year the cuttings are made. It is sometimes necessary to overwinter the cuttings in a pot that is kep in an area that does not get below freezing and then plant them in the ground the following summer. There are two ways tha hydrangeas can be dried. Some people just cut the stems and put them in water. When the water dries out of the container the leaves get stripped from the stems and the blooms are allowed to continue drying in the container in an area out of the direct sun. You can also cut the blooms, strip the leaves off the stems and hang the blooms upside down in a warm dry space. (People used to do it by hanging the stems in an attic over the summer.)