Hello:
Last July I purchased a home and planted two crape myrtles in my back yard. They bloomed quite nicely until we had a cold blast in October and they went into dormancy. I neglected to water them during our unusually warm winter this year for fear that they would come out of dormancy in their young states then get killed by a cold snap.
I planted them at the wrong time of year -- in the middle of a drought with 100+ deg. temperature -- so they went into shock for about a month to two months but then began to bloom incredibly.
I went about three months without watering them after late October - surprisingly they survived. I thought they were dead but didnt want to make that decision yet because I knew they don't begin growing until late spring. I was concerned about damage to them from not watering them for so long. One (pink velour) I pruned back about 1/3 of the height to about mid- to upper-shin height. The other (red rocket) looked extremely dry, brittle, and was exfoliating its bark... I got a little prune happy and took it back to about ankle- to quarter-shin height. The taller pink velour is already creating new branches (leaves are budding out of the stalks). The other one that I over pruned is completely bare, barky, and not showing any growth. I scratched that one and it is a bright green inside.
Prior to pruning, when they were in full bloom and full of leaves, they were about mid-shin to knee-height. It's obvious the red rocket is still alive and may just be taking longer to begin growing because the part remaining is the woody, barky part. My question is how long should it be before the little, overly pruned tree has grown back to where it was and is able to grow a full, albeit small, canopy again at about knee height like it was last year?
The pink velour, I think, looks like it's going to be fine. Both the trees are still under warranty with Lowes. Would you recommend letting nature take its course and letting it grow back on its own or should I return it and start from fresh now that the Arizona summer heat is a few months off? Again, how long should it take to get back to where it was if I accept the second option? Any chance of it being in bloom, or at least full and leafy, by mid-summer? (I've heard conflicting information about pruning crape myrtles -- one site suggested a hard prune while the plants are young will actually make them fuller later in their life.) Any thoughts?
Thanks.
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WildcatNurseryman
- Senior Member
- Posts: 266
- Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:42 pm
- Location: Lexington, KY.
Pruning will, in fact, cause them to fork where you prune them so that would make them fuller in the long-run. I always tip crepe myrtles back to clean them up as they are one of the last plants around here to fill in with foliage. After they have completely leafed out go back and give them a second look in order to remove any deadwood. You will know a lot more about what died or didn't very soon.