My first crepe myrtle. And train box

[Tulsabonsigh]

How long you all think until I can make it look like this?? How long did it take them to get those leaves so small and did they do anything extra to reduce this leaves so small?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

You can still drill a few more holes from the underside without repotting. The crepe will drink a ton as well. I'd plan on rebuilding next season if you choose to leave it this year

 

[TN_Jim]

awesome!!! Thanks so much! Do you fertilizer them? If so, what? And how soon?
And yes it’s screwed to the bottom board with deck screws

Feed em when I can, anything that dissolves in water and on discount every other week or so, miracle grow, whatever.
For the record, all of my trees are in development and I have not been practicing bonsai for that long. However, my experience with CM is that they are a pretty bulletproof and fast growing in general. I love them for this. They take abuse and neglect, and demand you to cut on them when you must reinforce patience with others.
That said, I think species “easiness” is subjective, you may find this different while other trees you have I can’t stop killing! Also, maybe how vigorous they are will inevitably prove a problem in the future for me as I try to figure out how to slow them down to a crawl, stop cutting the flower buds off, and develope tighter ramification. Yours being substantially bigger than all of mine will make this easier for you in the long run.

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Feed em when I can, anything that dissolves in water and on discount every other week or so, miracle grow, whatever.
For the record, all of my trees are in development and I have not been practicing bonsai for that long. However, my experience with CM is that they are a pretty bulletproof and fast growing in general. I love them for this. They take abuse and neglect, and demand you to cut on them when you must reinforce patience with others.
That said, I think species “easiness” is subjective, you may find this different while other trees you have I can’t stop killing! Also, maybe how vigorous they are will inevitably prove a problem in the future for me as I try to figure out how to slow them down to a crawl, stop cutting the flower buds off, and develope tighter ramification. Yours being substantially bigger than all of mine will make this easier for you in the long run.

great info! Thanks!

 

[Carol 83]

Feed em when I can, anything that dissolves in water and on discount every other week or so, miracle grow, whatever.
For the record, all of my trees are in development and I have not been practicing bonsai for that long. However, my experience with CM is that they are a pretty bulletproof and fast growing in general. I love them for this. They take abuse and neglect, and demand you to cut on them when you must reinforce patience with others.
That said, I think species “easiness” is subjective, you may find this different while other trees you have I can’t stop killing! Also, maybe how vigorous they are will inevitably prove a problem in the future for me as I try to figure out how to slow them down to a crawl, stop cutting the flower buds off, and develope tighter ramification. Yours being substantially bigger than all of mine will make this easier for you in the long run.

Good to hear. I got my first one last spring, and I DID NOT cut the flower buds off, lol. Why have a crape if not for the flowers. I got another this winter to put in a very cool red sorce pot. I plan on repotting at bud break. My landscape crapes are always the last thing to wake up here, so it might be awhile. It's encouraging to hear they are pretty tolerant to abuse.

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Good to hear. I got my first one last spring, and I DID NOT cut the flower buds off, lol. Why have a crape if not for the flowers. I got another this winter to put in a very cool red sorce pot. I plan on repotting at bud break. My landscape crapes are always the last thing to wake up here, so it might be awhile. It's encouraging to hear they are pretty tolerant to abuse.

what is Benefit of cutting buds off vs not?

 

[Carol 83]

what is Benefit of cutting buds off vs not?

They bloom off of new growth, which gets really leggy. Benefit, flowers. Downside, no ramification.

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Moss to help keep moisture in while transplant takes!

 

[LCD35]

Moss to help keep moisture in while transplant takes! View attachment 285984View attachment 285985

Did it bud?

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Of course not.

 

[Carol 83]

Of course not.

Don't give up hope, my landscape crapes haven't started budding out yet either. They are always the last thing in the garden to wake up.

 

[AaronThomas]

Any green on the trunk at all?

Thats a bummer if its shot......
Tough tree though...

 

[LCD35]

Of course not.

Perhaps a little longer. It's old wood and they are late starters. Scratch test?

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Perhaps a little longer. It's old wood and they are late starters. Scratch test?

What’s the scratch test? I pulled a small piece of bark off and it was green under

 

[LCD35]

What’s the scratch test? I pulled a small piece of bark off and it was green under

That's the principle, but typically you use your fingernail just to make a tiny scratch and see if there's green underneath the Cambrian layer. Green is good, just be patient wait and see.

 

[vp999]

I have a huge Crepe Myrtle that I dug up last fall and haven't budded either, I have to constantly scratch the tree to see if its still green and its as green as can be but no movement whatsoever, hopefully it will in this lifetime lol.