Crepe myrtle prop question

[Greg1786]

Hi everyone, my name is Greg and I am a new member. Also relatively new to gardening and landscaping. My wife and I bought our first house last year so this is our first season to give it a shot.

Anyhow, we really wanted to buy a few crepe myrtles for the back yard. A friend of ours has a beautiful pink crepe that we really like, and so she gave me about 15 cuttings from softwood or suckers near the base of the main trunk.

I took the cuttings and trimmed them into 4" pieces making sure to cut then as close to a node as possible. I then stripped all leaves but two near the top. I scraped the outside layer at the bottom node to help promote healing and dipped each cuttings end in rooting hormone. I played them down in small pots with potting mix and placed the pots in a shallow box and misted them well and sat them on my porch in the shade. We had a relatively cold and rainy day yesterday (63 degrees Fahrenheit ) and today the leaves on all but two were very droopy.

I fashioned a wire hanger to the box to act as a guard about 8 inches above the plants and covered with a translucent trash bag, misted in the bag all over the plants and tied closed, back in the shade on the porch. Its beginning to warm again outside and get humid about 80 degrees now.

My question is, is it too late for these clipping since the leaves look droopy or will they be able to bounce back? Also, if I did something wrong please correct me I'm just learning and want to learn right! Thanks for reading and any insight you can provide ! -Greg

[thanrose]

You did way more than I did to root crepe myrtle cuttings. While it is summer, I found they will root easily any time between March and October for me in Florida.

I wouldn't worry about the leaves drooping. You left very few to deplete or augment the cutting's resources, and they very well may drop, but that won't stop the cuttings from rooting.

Let them get fresh air and not stay too humid. Crepe myrtles are susceptible to mold and mildew. The anti-fungals in the rooting hormone will help.

Just an FYI, the lower your cuttings were taken on the scion, the greater the possibility that you may get slightly different blossom color. Good news is that it still will be pink most likely.

Good luck, and good patience.

[Greg1786]

Thanks so much for the reply! I will open the bag up today and let them breathe now that the weather has warmed. I was unaware of the mold and mildew issue so I appreciate the advice!

[Greg1786]

Wanted to give an update. I openes the bag up around noon today. It was warm and humid in the bag, there were water droplets still all over the inside of the bag from misting the plants yesterday. The soil was still moist as well. To my surprise all but one of the cuttings had rebounded beautifully. 14 of the 15 cuttings leaves were no longer droopy and looked very healthy. I left the bag opened all day. Upon returning from playing golf and going to dinner, I found everything to be pretty dry, the bag and the cuttings, and the soil was not as moist as when the bag was first opened. Unfortunately all the leaves on every clipping were very droopy and unhealthy looking again. I misted the clippings and soil well and also the inside of the bag and tied it closed again around 9pm.

I'm not sure if one thing is the cause or perhaps a combination of things making the leaves droop. The temperature today was a little warmer, around 80 degrees F and it was mostly sunny, though I have the clippings in the shade. I think for the time being, while the temperature is on the low side for this time of year, 78-80, I will keep the bag closed, opening it for 30 minutes in the am and again in the pm long enough to mist and allow some fresh air in. If anyone could offer some more insight is greatly appreciate the help, otherwise I will update my progress and things change. Thanks again -Greg

[Greg1786]

My cuttings took a turn for the worse, I think, and I'm worried they are dying. If someone could take a look at the photo I attached and let me know what state they are in I'd appreciate it. Thanks