Crepe myrtle stump progression

[Forrestford]

I started off by going to a run down nursery and buying several big trees. I knew I wanted a crepe myrtle so I found one with great flare and bought it. Feb2020

wife for scale

I trunk chopped it immediately to fit it in my car and brought it home.

It started to bud out at the end of March so, time to get to work.

it was very root bound and took a few hours to clean up. I removed all the old solid and removed of the downward facing roots. Looking at the picture above, I should have cut about double that initially, it made for extra work later. Lessons learned. I used a mixture of pumice turface and pine bark, later on I added spagnum moss to the top of the soil.

 

[NOZZLE HEAD]

Great start!

These are not common in the Pacific Northwest, so I’m really eager to see the next progression.

I applaud your choice of starting material.

 

[vp999]

I dug one up that size in the fall, still no buds or any movements yet and its still green underneath. Good luck with yours.

 

[Forrestford]

It’s been left to grow and this is it May 9th

 

[Forrestford]

May 25 I Did some shoot selection and planned on wiring them but I am now stuck on which direction to go. There is hardly any taper, even some reverse taper but I think I can hide that planted at the proper angle.

after removing some unwanted shoots

 

[Forrestford]

I am thinking about removing the first branch entirely and keeping it as a single trunk line. And maybe reducing the overal height of the tree. The tree stands about 12.5” from the top of the soil.
I used the thread as inspiration.
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/a-crape-myrtle-project.2083/
Although I love the tree in the thread, it’s not the way crepe myrtles are grown around here. I love the broom style for these, however I do not think I can achieve that with this “skeleton”, unless I reduce a lot more. I think with the long taperless trunk creating a more formal upright tree is more along the lines of this tree.
Still a LONG way to go.
Any thoughts/ tips are welcome

Forrest.

 

[Forrestford]

I dug one up that size in the fall, still no buds or any movements yet and its still green underneath. Good luck with yours.

Strange. The weather we have been having it budded super early and all the landscape crepes around here are going crazy too. Hopefully yours turns around. Thanks!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Now that it has recovered from the root pruning, I would seriously consider reducing the trunk substantially. The way the cuts are arranged now, there is no way for them to heal without leaving an unsightly knob. Make sure when you create the cuts that you envision where the callous bulge will be, and that you hollow out your cuts so that the scar will not project significantly out from the trunk line. Note that the top cut I am showing at an angle left to right, but you really want that angle to be front to back, so the top scar faces the rear, and the healing branch (that becomes your upper trunk and eventually your apex) grows from the top of the scar forward.



Perhaps this is a better image... you have to envision the top cut facing the rear and being hollowed out. Make sure the cut is at least a 45 degree angle. If the cut faces the left rear or right rear that is ok - as long as the new trunk grows forward.



We were just discussing crepe myrtles on another thread so let me share these photos as examples. Note how the cuts are concave. In this case I had to angle the top cut the way that it was due to other branch scars on the rear. You can leave sacrifice branches to close the larger trunk scars, and remove them once the wound is mostly calloused over.

 

[Forrestford]

Now that it has recovered from the root pruning, I would seriously consider reducing the trunk substantially.

thanks for your insight,
Thats the plan, would you get rid of that smaller branch completely and try to Create some taper?. Hopefully it buds more when I cut it this weekend, I know crepes are pruned in late winter and they bud like crazy in the spring but since it has already sent out all this foliage do you think it will have a problem budding out again?
great tree btw... how long between the 2 pictures?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Three years between the two pictures.

I have to be careful because the last two years this tree was in Southern California. However it was still fully deciduous even there, would drop leaves in the fall, bud out in the spring, etc. Perhaps I got a little longer growing season, but I'm not sure (at least compared to VA).

With that background, this plant is one of the strongest growers in my garden, behind only my valley oaks. You can see how aggressively I pruned it back, and yet it budded back everywhere. I don't think June 1 is too late to do major work on a crepe myrtle, because I am about to defoliate mine completely, prune it, and then I may defoliate it again after seeing how it responds to the work. As long as you have it in a large grow pot and the roots are healthy, it shouldn't bat an eye.

 

[Forrestford]

Three years between the two pictures.

I have to be careful because the last two years this tree was in Southern California. However it was still fully deciduous even there, would drop leaves in the fall, bud out in the spring, etc. Perhaps I got a little longer growing season, but I'm not sure (at least compared to VA).

With that background, this plant is one of the strongest growers in my garden, behind only my valley oaks. You can see how aggressively I pruned it back, and yet it budded back everywhere. I don't think June 1 is too late to do major work on a crepe myrtle, because I am about to defoliate mine completely, prune it, and then I may defoliate it again after seeing how it responds to the work. As long as you have it in a large grow pot and the roots are healthy, it shouldn't bat an eye.

Wow great progression in a short time! I’ll cut back this weekend. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bagels]

Wow great progression in a short time! I’ll cut back this weekend. Thanks for the advice.

Do you have any updates on this? I've been considering a crape myrtle purchase and love seeing these progressions and management

 

[Forrestford]

Yea I took advice and cut low...real low and I’m glad I did.
Mid summer, big chop, then I Let it recover for the rest of the growing season.
I cut it back and carved the dead wood in the fall.
I Recently repotted it a few weeks ago and It’s now got buds pushing in all the right places.
I’m digging the way it looks now, and plan on wiring the new growth and letting the tree grow and recover for a bit.
This year im focusing on that wound, Maybe some epoxy will help heal it over in the future but for now, lots of fertilizer, sun and water.
I’ll get some shots of the new growth this weekend.
Here’s some pics.
In the fall:

^Fall carving and cut back.

Mid March Repot with heavy root reduction.

 

[JonW]

Looks great!

 

[Lazylightningny]

Impressive root growth for one year

 

[Forrestford]

Thanks, it’s off to a good start.

 

[leatherback]

I cut it back and carved the dead wood in the fall.

Gutsy move! Do these heal over wounds well?

 

[Forrestford]

I dont foresee this wound healing anytime soon, if, at all. A hollow might just be a part of the tree.
Fall was the best time for me personally. The way I see it is, it’s deadwood might as well get rid of it, it does more harm then good.
So I carve it to the live tissue, use cut paste on the wound, and treat the remaining dead wood with wood hardener.
You can see the cut paste starting to crack already so that’s always a good sign.
I did this with a few other trees/stumps and everything seems healthy so far...

5yr Native Tree Challenge Forrestford's Acer Rubrum

Here is my contest tree. Red maple dug March2020. I gave it all season to recover Here it is in fall and then today

www.bonsainut.com

Here’s another example from a fall cutback and deadwood carve.
FWIW I live in VA beach and winters are quite mild.
I need to chase back some growth now so I don’t have those straight sections you see.

 

[Forrestford]

This tree didn’t grow this year, the branches are still flexible and green. Usually the crepe is the last to wake up, but now it’s mid July and nothing…
Last year it grew great. But the winters in CT were a lot colder then I expected.
Concerned but also perplexed…
Does anyone else have experience with that?
Is the tree dead? Or is there still hope.

 

[Rivian]

This tree didn’t grow this year, the branches are still flexible and green. Usually the crepe is the last to wake up, but now it’s mid July and nothing…
Last year it grew great. But the winters in CT were a lot colder then I expected.
Concerned but also perplexed…
Does anyone else have experience with that?
Is the tree dead? Or is there still hope.

Is it a variety or just straight Lagerstroemia indica? The latter is not suited to stay outside in Zone 6 Winter. Natchez might work
Sometimes the issue can be fine root damage caused by frost or too much water, so the tree has to make new ones before pushing again. Such happened to my Sioux. But even then, it leafed out by June at latest.
Have you checked the bark for life? Pictures?