Moving Crape Myrtle ?

I have 2 Crape Myrtles beside my porch and we want to extend the porch and need to dig up and move the trees - if possible. They are approx. 12 feet tall. Are the roots for Myrtles compacted enough that we can dig up at 12-15 ft tree? And will they transplant well? I can't image having to cut them.

Any thoughts
Kathy

I tried to move a six footer, and wound up giving up and cutting it down. The roots were thick and many and quite determined to stay firmly attached to terra firma. Additionally, the area was confined and I didn't have a lot of room to work in.

I would strongly recommend that you check with local arborists and get a quote on using a mechanical tree spade. You just write the check and get out of the way. Much easier on your body and on the plants as well.

If you have more energy than money, you can give it a try. I would try to give them at least a 36" root ball.

Scott

I actually have 2 sons, Matt and Mark (19 & 16) both 6'1 and have nothing else to do with their life except dig up my trees...lol. Isn't that a joke. I can't get the cerial bowls out of their room. You know how hard it is to go to school and maintain a social life.

I thought it would be a major undertaking. My back and knees are NOT up to it. But I'll give the boys a shot first....then I"m sure I'll be calling someone....
thanks.
Kathy

shihtzumom:

You might not want to base your decision on what a shiftless n'er-do-well like Decumbent recommends. Take a look at the "Wish me luck" thread to see what he's really like.

I have had the good fortune to have had to transplant some rather large Lagerstroemia for a large project. These ranged from solid six footers up to fourteen footers, in five flavors. The fourtenn footers had 44" rootballs. Mixed results, even with very well grown plants coming from highly reputable nurseries, carefully planted, and meticulously cared for afterward. Some died outright; others died back but resprouted vigorously. Just a heads up from past experience.

I would not deter you from providing your strapping young sons with some valuable life experiences. It worked on me (and my eight brothers of whom the five younger are all bigger than me) when my dad recognized that we needed the exercise. Nothing like learning how to perform an onerous task as an adolescent to encourage you to stay in school and at least have the ability and choice to do something else in life. I (and my brothers) all went on to college. I somehow managed to circle back and find great reward in horticulture, landscape management, and now finally landscape architecture. I guess being "kicked by the mule" still caught up with me.

Valley,
What a great note. Kids now want it all for nothing. They are so lazy. My oldest, 19, is in college and hopes to have his machinist degree by Fall semester. My 16 year old prefers desktop publishing with a drafting mix.

There soon won't be any horticulture specialists out there if all these kids grow up to be computer 'something' - which will definately pay high dollar. But even in our small town you can not find anyone to do work for home repair, roofing, etc.

I enjoyed your note and as an only child, I really didn't have to work other than at home cleaning and working in the garden which I HATED because dad made me to it, tiller and all. Now it is the most enjoyable thing I can do. Amazing how it all turns out.

Thanks again,
Kathy

Depending on how long it is going to be before you extend your porch, you could root some cuttings and get them growing in pots. Plant them in the new spots and cut the large ones down. Around my neck of the woods crape myrtles are a dime a dozen. LOL You can get 4ft tall ones at Wal-Mart for around $9.00 You might come out better just buying new ones.

Several years ago I tried to transplant a crape myrtle at least 8 feet tall--during June, no less. All the leaves dried up and fell off, so I gave it up for dead. Just as an experiment, I cut it down to the ground and threw the remaining piece of root in a hole in a far corner of the garden. It's now at least twenty feet tall. I don't know if this miracle has anything to do wih our climate down here, but I've concluded from my experiment that crape myrtles are indestructible.

Now, in my area, the trees should be dormant. I hope my boys can give it a try. I don't mind buying new trees, I just don't want to waste such healthy, lovely trees.