Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) and "crape murder"

An observation on pruning from Hamilton County Master Gardener Donna Adams

Driving to work today I notice most all of the Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) that have been amputated or have their tops whacked off. This is what we call crape murder.

Trees should never be topped. It destroys the branching control and natural shape.

If you have a crape myrtle please do not hack it down to the stick. There is no educated arborist or horticulturist that will tell you to do this.

It will leave scars and wounds that last forever. It creates smaller branches that grow which are lacking in proportion. When crape myrtle trees are topped this way, the blooms are larger, although fewer, but since these large blooms are on new shoots, they will flop over and droop, especially when it rains.

If you go to Mobile or Charleston you will admire the beautiful crape myrtles and they are not hacked down in this way.

If you hire someone that hacks down your myrtles, they have not taken the time to educate themselves on horticulturally sound practices.

Prune your myrtles to thin out the trunks on young trees. You should leave somewhere around 3 to 7 permanent trunks. Each year in the spring time you then will only have to remove new suckers that appear from the ground or from your main trunk. Then on your tree form or branches, you can remove the cross-over branches ---stand away from your tree and you can see the branches that should be removed to make the form that you want the tree to be. And then early spring remove the new growth which is easy to do.

If you want your dried pods removed, do it in the summer and it will promote faster re-bloom. You do not have to remove the pods however and it is hard to do on a large tree.

If you want your myrtle to be small, then you have bought the wrong tree. Dig up the one you have and buy one that is smaller. There are many smaller ones to choose from and you won't have to battle your tree to be the size you want it to be.

Crape myrtles are one of the showiest plants in our area with few pests, bloom several weeks. Their barks are exfoliating and afterwards they are smooth and beautiful. They have a beautiful branching structure so why butcher them?

Crape Myrtles like full sun, you can put bark around the roots to keep some moister in especially if you are planting them but they do not like constant wet feet. The soil must be able to drain. If you have them in the sun this will keep the diseases away and let them breathe. Although some are not as mildew-resistant as others.

Many people like shrubs instead of trees. To get a shrub you need to prune the stems back to 6 inches above ground level each spring. It will not kill a healthly shrub to be pruned like this and you will get an abundance of new shoots. The shrubs you can group together and make a find hedge. They can get fairly tall. Keep the dead limbs trimmed out and I keep my shrubs fairly clipped inside so they can breath. You might end up with a large shrub out of control if you don't keep them trimmed back each spring. (I prefer larger shrubs so I clip them inside and clip out many branches but I do not want smaller, short shrubs.)

You will find volunteer seedlings popping up all over your lawn (you can transplant them). I have planted seedlings of which I have made trees - and I have also made shrubs out of them.

For better growth and flowers use a well-prepared soil -----dig a hole at least 2 times wider than the root ball. Set the plant in the hole no deeper than it grew in the container or ground.

Water thoroughly at planting time once a week for the first 2 months especially if it does not rain. Established crape myrtle plants will tolerate drought.

Flowering is better if the plants are watered during the dry spells that we have.

Heavy shade will reduce growth and flowering ----- and will increase problems of disease such as powdery mildew.

Lack of sunlight and moisture are also causes of poor flowering and growth.

I would prune crape myrtles during the late winter or early spring because if you prune in the fall you force new growth and it keeps the plant from going dormant. Sometimes severe freezes can kill the plant if it is not fully dormant.

Hope this helps all of you.

Donna Adams, President Hamilton County Master Gardeners

		Ready, set, grow! By Kathy Gilbert Staff Writer, Chattanooga Times Free Press Saturday, February 21, 2004, page E-1 This week’s beautiful weather may prompt some home gardeners to get planting. Fortunately for them, area nurseries are getting truckloads of new plants beginning this weekend. "We have two trailerloads of ball-and-burlap and all the deciduous trees coming in the latter part of the week," said Bill Suggs, manager of The Barn Nursery downtown. Fruit trees, shrubs and some annuals such as pansies will be available beginning today, Mr. Suggs said.
				Chattanooga Times Free Press Photo by Leigh Shelle Hunt Davey Culver, left, and Ricky Ellis, employees at The Barn Nursery on Hickory Street, unload shrubs in preparation for spring planting.
		Hundreds of Simply Color perennials came in this week to Holcomb Garden Center in Hixson, said Craig Walker, nursery manager. Mr. Walker said he will give a free talk on early perennials titled "Not Your Mother’s Old Monarda" at 10 a.m. today at 5513 Highway 153 in Hixson, and at 10 a.m. Feb. 28 at the Fort Oglethorpe store. Simply Color plants were grown in Dahlonega, Ga., Mr. Walker said. "They’ve been tested and grown in the South," he said. "Most of these could be put in the ground right now." Hardy daisies, bee balms, columbine and heucheras are among the hardy species that can be planted this month.  "I’ve been planting perennials all winter long," Mr. Walker said.     "You’ve just got to know what you’re doing." Pick varieties that have been acclimated, he said. "Something that’s been in a hot house all winter, you wouldn’t want to put out," he said. "But if it’s been in a cold frame, exposed during most of the time, and if it’s the right plant, it can go out now."  Signal Mountain Nursery has hundreds of 4-inch perennials that can be planted now, said Kim Bonastia, manager. "We’ve got everything under the sun," she said. Salvias, blackeyed Susans, ferns, dianthus, yarrows, sedums, dwarf plumbagos, foxgloves, columbines and coreopsis are just a few of the many plants available, she said.     The nursery stocks shrubs and trees year-round, she said.     "We grow all of our own annuals and some of our own perennials," Ms. Bonastia said. "So we feel like we can maintain higher quality. And if we grow it ourselves it’s more acclimated to this climate." An exciting new plant this year, never seen in any garden in prior years, is the Endless Summer hydrangea, Mr. Walker said. All of these hydrangeas were propagated from a single plant that had genetically mutated naturally. The Endless Summer hydrangea, uniquely, produces blooms on the current year’s wood. All other hydrangeas produce blooms on last year’s new wood, Mr. Walker said. This means that frost damage won’t kill the Endless Summer’s blooms, he said, meaning the Endless Summer will produce blooms reliably year after year, no matter what the weather. The Endless Summers won’t be available until March, he added. Perennials to combine with hydrangeas include larger hostas, heucheras and bleeding hearts, Mr. Walker said. Except for the heucheras, a ground cover or small flowering plant with attractive foliage, the other plants should be planted later in the season, he added. E-mail Kathy Gilbert at kgilbert@timesfreepress.com Chattanooga Times Free Press -- Saturday, February 21, 2004, page E-1

Right time for gardeners to hit the dirt

By Kathy Gilbert Chattanooga Times Free Press Staff Writer Saturday, February 21, 2004, 42

Late February is the perfect time to fertilize the lawn and mulch flower beds, local gardeners said.  

"Working on those beds and mulching is pretty important this time of year," said Bill Suggs, manager of The Barn Nursery.

 Fertilizer and, if desired, a chemical pre-emergent may be placed on well-established lawns now, said Kim Bonastia, manager of Signal Mountain Nursery. Those who plan to reseed their lawns should avoid pre-emergents and just fertilize, she added. It is too early to pull off last fall’s mulch layer, though, Mr. Suggs said.  

"You don’t want to get the protective stuff off too early in case in another two weeks it gets down to 18 degrees again," he said. "It will kill the top of it."     It’s also a good time of year to trim trees, he said. Don’t prune spring-blooming shrubs and trees, though. Wait until they bloom. Ask for advice about particular plants if you’re unfamiliar with their habits and bloom time, Ms. Bonastia advised.

Don’t fertilize roses too early, Mr. Suggs said.

"If you start fertilizing roses now it’ll start pushing them out," he said. "We may get a cold spell. So wait until the first of March to do that."

Monkey grass, or liriope, can be cut back now to resprout, he suggested.

Raised beds can be turned to boost the soil activity in about mid-March, Mr. Suggs said.

"I put lime on top of them and turn them about the middle of March, and then again the first week in April," he said. "I also use really fine, half-inch or an inch of compost or ground up leaves on all my raised beds in winter. In March, I turn that underneath the ground. I go down about a foot and turn that just like a farmer would turn his field, and leave that for two to three weeks, then turn it again and it’s ready to plant."

Mr. Suggs cautioned against jumping headfirst into gardening chores. But don’t be overprudent either, he added.

"We’re just about on the neck of starting to do all this stuff, but we could still have some real cold weather," Mr. Suggs said. "You just kind of have to take a chance on some things."

 E-mail Kathy Gilbert at kgilbert@timesfreepress.com

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