Crape Myrtle project

Mbpauley

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Thought I would start a progression thread for this tree. It's a crape myrtle (unknown variety) that I picked up at a nursery a few months ago. The first pics are from when I originally chopped it back from about 3' tall by 3' wide. The other pic is the growth it's put on so far this season. I bought this tree for the nebari alone. I am a little concerned about the fact that the smaller trunk is the same thickness as the taller one right at the base. Hopefully I can get the taller one to thicken up a bit more by allowing a sacrifice branch to grow. I very lightly wired the new shoots pretty recently just to make sure they are emerging from the trunk at the right angle. I suspect I'll have to reapply the wire in a month or so since it's growing so strong.
 

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JudyB

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I think this will be good given time. The trunks are enough different, that just by letting the one go and continual pruning on the other, you should have what you want. I like C.M.'s.
 

Mbpauley

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This thing is going wild right now... I've had to re wire twice already, and the new leader on the taller trunk is just a little over 1/2" already. Every one of the larger pruning wounds are callousing over pretty quickly. I'll post an update on this when I cut back in a little while.
 

Mbpauley

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Quick question regarding timing of a chop on this tree. As you can see from the pictures, it has put on quite a bit of growth and the leader on the right trunk has thickened a considerable amount. My question is this: should I wait until next season to chop that new leader (red mark in the second picture) or should I do it sometime this summer (in, say, a month)? Should I wait for it to reach exactly the thickness I'm looking for or could I expect the subsequent development of the canopy above that point to thicken it to where I would like it to be? I understand that healing over of the wounds lower on the trunk would be slowed a bit, but it seems vigorous enough that they would still callous over eventually. I suppose letting it go for the rest of the year would also help thicken the entire right side of the tree.
 

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Zach Smith

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Quick question regarding timing of a chop on this tree. As you can see from the pictures, it has put on quite a bit of growth and the leader on the right trunk has thickened a considerable amount. My question is this: should I wait until next season to chop that new leader (red mark in the second picture) or should I do it sometime this summer (in, say, a month)? Should I wait for it to reach exactly the thickness I'm looking for or could I expect the subsequent development of the canopy above that point to thicken it to where I would like it to be? I understand that healing over of the wounds lower on the trunk would be slowed a bit, but it seems vigorous enough that they would still callous over eventually. I suppose letting it go for the rest of the year would also help thicken the entire right side of the tree.
You should make the cut in a month or so and grow a new leader from the bud that will emerge at the leaf below your red line. As the new leader thickens it'll add to the thickness of the new growth below. It should make for a perfect transition.

Zach
 

jk_lewis

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Next time you pot you should take a look at the surface roots. They are a bit crowded and coud stand some thinning so there are just 3 or so radiating out.
 

lackhand

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Next time you pot you should take a look at the surface roots. They are a bit crowded and coud stand some thinning so there are just 3 or so radiating out.

I'm curious JKL, I've seen many techniques to make or improve a nice radial nebari, but I don't think I've ever heard anybody recommend thinning out the surface roots. Wouldn't it look unnatural with a triangle or square of roots at the base?
 

Poink88

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Like maple, I've seen roots of crepe myrtle fuse together and have a pancake base. If you want that type, do not reduce the roots you have.
 

Mbpauley

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You should make the cut in a month or so and grow a new leader from the bud that will emerge at the leaf below your red line. As the new leader thickens it'll add to the thickness of the new growth below. It should make for a perfect transition.

Zach

This is what I expected, I was just unsure if the previous chops would callous over too slowly. If any buds pop immediately around those areas then I will let them grow as sacrifice branches to speed up the healing.
 

Mbpauley

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Next time you pot you should take a look at the surface roots. They are a bit crowded and coud stand some thinning so there are just 3 or so radiating out.

I can see what you're saying, there is at least one or two that I can see are causing it to look a bit crowded. For the time being though, since none of those roots are crossing or really problematic in any other way, I will let them be. I'll consider it over the next few years and see how I feel. After all, once I remove them I won't be getting them back.
 

Mbpauley

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I've cut this guy back twice since the last update. Since then, I've become increasingly aware of the need to do something creative with the huge wound on the main trunk. Last night I used a dremel to connect the larger, more obvious wound with one on the left inside part of the same trunk. Not sure how well it turned out... My plan is to let it rot just a little bit so that it develops a more natural color and texture. At that point, I will treat it with wood hardener. However it turns out, luckily I haven't invested much money at all into this tree, so it's alright if this turns out to be nothing more than a learning experience... There is another large wound on the backside of the left trunk from when I originally reduced the plant. Not sure what I will do about that one.

The two little shoots on the bottom right and the long branch that is brushing up against the fence in the background are being grown out as sacrifice branches.
 

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MidMichBonsai

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I definitely think the carving improves the quality of this tree. It looks quite natural and I think will improve nicely over time so that the cut that was there is indistinguishable.

I think the challenge that you have is that there are multiple spots on the tree that this could be done to hide major cuts. 1 spot in my mind is okay because it adds character. You might be able to get away with 2 but beyond that it's starts to be too much.

Like you said, at least it will be a learning experience one way or the other.

Best of luck!
 

Eric Group

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I love crepe Myrtles for bonsai and came looking through the flowering Bonsai threads to see if others use them frequently like I do!

I think you have a great trunk and nebari on this one, and I would not recommend that you thin those roots it much. Personally I enjoy the fused/ "pancake" look you can get from a larger tree like this when the nebari ages... JMHO

As for the tree itself, this might be a difficult one for Bonsai. There are many different varieties of Crepe Myrtle. Some dwarf varieties that are almost like cheating when used for Bonsai because they are so well suitd- with small branch internodes, leaves and even blooms that match the tree size- then there are a ton of varieties that grow with a nice compact growth patter and fairly small leaves, but will still turn into big, mature trees... These are the ones I prefer, and they com in all kinds of colors, but the leaves are generally small and rounded off and the bark is smooth... Then you have trees like the one you have here... While they make beautiful landscape trees and are loved by people all over the south east because the produce prolific growth and massive blooms... They pump out HUGE leaves, clunky, thick branches and gigantic blooms that make them a little difficult to style for a normal sized bonsai. If you make a rare large one, you might be able to produce a nice, refined product but this one will be a challenge and I will warn you that the bark will scar quickly from wiring so be careful!

Good luck, I hope this turns into something great for you, but the next time you select a crepe Myrtle try to make it easier on yourself by selecting one with smaller leaves and more compact growth and you will probably find it easier to produce a nice tree.
 

Mbpauley

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Eric,

I purchased this tree when I had first only been hearing about crape myrtles being usable for bonsai. I happened to see some at a local landscape nursery while they were still leafless, and noticed that this one in particular had a much nicer trunk and Nebari than the others. At the time, I had not read much, if anything, about them at all, and was not aware that there was a dwarfed variety. I realize now that this tree may never amount to much more than a learning experience. Since I bought this tree, I have kept an eye out for a dwarf variety that has some potential, but so far have not seen anything that really caught my eye.

The growth certainly seems to be a bit coarse, especially the shoots emerging near the apex, but I had assumed that this was at least partly a result of several conditions. I have been fertilizing this tree heavily and it has plenty of room for root growth in the 5 gallon container since I repotted it this spring. I removed probably 2/3rds of the bottom of the root mass, and it is potted in pretty coarse soil. There also is hardly any ramification at this point. This tree may also serve to be a valuable lesson in reducing leaf size. I noticed that some of the smaller, weaker shoots near the base had leaves that hardened off at just over an inch. My hope was that by increasing ramification, reducing fertilization, smaller soil particle size and restricted root development in a smaller pot may keep leaf size to a tolerable minimum. What has been your experience?

Also, I understand that these trees bloom on the end of new growth, so I never really intended to let it bloom as it would spoil the eventual design anyway.
 
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Mbpauley

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I suppose there is also the possibility of eventually grafting on a dwarf variety; there is one example in particular that I have seen online that seems to have turned out successful.
 

jk_lewis

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My, it is nice to find someone who spells crape myrtle correctly. ;)

After all, once I remove them I won't be getting them back.

Probably not true. But the base will look a lot more tree-like. \

The chop scars will always be a problem. You need to look at the tree before/when you get it to be sure there aren't too many large chops, because they heal VERY slowly You usually have to work them into the design, and multiple large chops will interrupt the tree's circulatory system. Large ones usually end up being the start of a hollowed trunk. Luckily, crape myrtle wood isn't too rot prone.

Here are a couple of trees in which the major chop has been incorporated into the design.
 

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Mbpauley

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Jkl,

Those two trees are outstanding, especially the second. Both are dwarf varieties, correct?

I'm not sure if you saw my most recent post with pictures a few posts back; I have indeed attempted to incorporate the two most visible chop scars on the taller trunk into the design by carving them out and connecting them. The plan was to let the wood develop some natural texture and color for a while before I treated it with wood hardener. I was assuming that the wood would probably rot at a similar rate as with most deciduous trees, but maybe not. Do you treat the hollows on your trees with anything? Is the black color how it naturally looks after a few years, or is that intentional?

Although I was able to incorporate the chops visible from the front, there are two more on the left trunk of equal size that I have done nothing about. As was said several posts earlier, I am concerned that carving those chop scars in a similar way may be overdoing it. As it is, I believe that they will at least be hidden by foliage in the summer. During the winter, though...

Also, I still have not decided whether I will be eliminating any roots. Maybe as some thicken up or begin to fuse, I will remove one or two of the smaller ones. We'll see.
 

jk_lewis

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Thanks. I don't treat the wood with anything. The "black" is actually dark brown from a Minwax stain pen. It is to add to the hollow image.
 

Eric Group

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My, it is nice to find someone who spells crape myrtle correctly. ;)



Probably not true. But the base will look a lot more tree-like. \

The chop scars will always be a problem. You need to look at the tree before/when you get it to be sure there aren't too many large chops, because they heal VERY slowly You usually have to work them into the design, and multiple large chops will interrupt the tree's circulatory system. Large ones usually end up being the start of a hollowed trunk. Luckily, crape myrtle wood isn't too rot prone.

Here are a couple of trees in which the major chop has been incorporated into the design.

Actually both are commonly used... Crepe and crape... I generally use crepe just to be contrarian! Lol
Actually Crepe is the more commonly used name in the south, but the Scientific name is lagerstroemia CRAPE Myrtle... Bunches of variations Are out there...

Regardless- nice trees!
 
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