Crape Myrtle from Seeds Project

[renaissance_caveman]

I started a batch of crape myrtle seeds last year. No idea what variety, they were just labeled Lagerstroemia indica.

I stratified a couple weeks in the fridge between damp paper towels in a ziploc, then moved to a seedling mat until they started to sprout (they pretty much all germinated). I planted them in 2" cells around May and slip potted to a flat of 4" pots in early July (on the left below):



I cut them back once a month or so later to get more light and air on the lower branches and cut back one more time after the leaves fell in early December:

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nice job!

Are there any recent images?

Best
DSD sends

 

[renaissance_caveman]

Thanks DSD! Beat me to the update

This spring I slip potted everything again into two flats of 5" pots just as the buds were starting to swell. Today I cut all the branches back to give them more breathing room.

Before:


After:


I'm sure they'd thicken faster if I just let them go wild but then I think I'd need to give them more room on the bench and I'm trying to conserve space. Trunks are about 1/4" right now:



I'll probably give away half of these in the next couple years once I've identified the ones with the most promise so I can keep up-potting without taking up too much space.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Really nice! Like that at least some appear to be planted on an angle.

A thought. Be wise with the cut backs with an idea towards future designs. Might even cutback to a lower branch on some now.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[renaissance_caveman]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have another 8 to cut back so I’ll experiment with cutting some of them lower.

None of them were originally planted at an angle but my growing area is a 9th story roof and we get a lot of wind which adds some interesting shape on its own. I will plant some of these at an angle on the next repot. It’s something I always mean to do but forget in the heat of the moment.

 

[renaissance_caveman]

Today I cut back the second flat (another 8 plants). I followed DSD's suggestion and was more aggressive with a few trees that had low branching.

Before:


After:


Here's one that I cut back very low (5" pot):


Not having much experience, I'm on the fence as to the optimal approach for developing these. I've been assuming that all of the existing branches will become too thick for the design once the trunk reaches the final size. My thinking has been that, at this point, cutback is only slowing down growth, so it makes sense to remove the minimum amount required to control the size and ensure light and air reach the interior. They seem to backbud readily, so my plan has been to do more dramatic chops when the trunk is thicker and start thinking about branches then.

All that being said, I haven't thought enough about what those final designs will actually be (size, style, etc) so I'll spend the rest of this season and the winter ruminating over that. I'm not in a hurry, I expect it to take 10-20 years for these to be presentable. Appreciate any suggestions from those more knowledgable and experienced.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Today I cut back the second flat (another 8 plants). I followed DSD's suggestion and was more aggressive with a few trees that had low branching.

Good Job! The was recommended (since you had time) to learn to develop this cohort with intention, using clip and gro, bits of wire and a few discrete sacrifice branches from the gitgo.

This way one can develop and improve their proficiency and confidence levels in styling and branch creation technique immediately vs the chop and pop method (C&P = chop trunk and branches pop out… somewhere) . In the end these trees likely will be much higher quality than doing C&P.

Not having much experience, I'm on the fence as to the optimal approach for developing these. I've been assuming that all of the existing branches will become too thick for the design once the trunk reaches the final size.

This will give one a boatload of experience in a short time frame, especially compared to C&P. But you will be building the tree from the bottom up. It takes more time, yet yields a much more refined tree.

My thinking has been that, at this point, cutback is only slowing down growth, so it makes sense to remove the minimum amount required to control the size and ensure light and air reach the interior. They seem to backbud readily, so my plan has been to do more dramatic chops when the trunk is thicker and start thinking about branches then.

So why was did I recommend splitting the original group into two?

Three reasons.

- This amount of trees is plenty to learn to clip and grow to begin with… and keep you busy. You can add more later.
- Also will give one experience on how to build a tree… which will have to be learned later…and many wait to learn this until later, with the normal mistakes then instead of learning first.
- To still give you experience with C&P…. But with a C&G background to help inform your choices along the way… intelligent tree design?

All that being said, I haven't thought enough about what those final designs will actually be (size, style, etc) so I'll spend the rest of this season and the winter ruminating over that. I'm not in a hurry, I expect it to take 10-20 years for these to be presentable. Appreciate any suggestions from those more knowledgable and experienced.

Good luck! Love to see your results over time.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[renaissance_caveman]

Thanks DSD! Appreciate the perspective on C&G vs C&P.

I’ll continue documenting the progress here. Looking forward to doing some experiments on different trees in this batch.

 

[renaissance_caveman]

Growing back strongly.



The ones that were cut very low have lots of shoots coming from old wood as well.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Well done!

DSD sends

 

[19Mateo83]

These are going to be awesome little trees in a few years. They are off to a great start. Keep up the good work!