bwaynef

I posted a crape myrtle that I've been working on for a few years last fall along with a couple of other trees. The crape clearly got the most attention out of the 3 posted.

During the spring I thought I'd lost this crape myrtle. Last fall right before the "cold" of our SC winter I let the tree get a little too dry. It dropped every leaf on the tree but proceeded to put out super tiny leaves all over again. Then frost came and the tender leaves were burned. Stubbornly, it pushed new leaves again. In the span of 2 weeks it'd lost 3 sets of leaves, so going into dormancy it was severely stressed.

Most of the east coast had a mildish winter but a late cold snap earlier in the year. Most trees had already pushed leaves, and my azaleas were blooming. My landscape crapes all had been leafed out. They lost their leaves in the cold snap and have had new leaves for a couple of months.

This crape sat perfectly silent all winter and into spring. There was still a hint of green hidden right below the paper thin bark so I was hopeful that all wasn't lost, but I was worried as May approached that this tree was not going to do anything. I knew that if I was patient enough that the tree would reward me with leaves but I was starting to doubt that.

Finally about 2½ weeks ago I noticed 2 leaves on a branch. It lives!!!!

Attached Images

Crape-5-07.jpg (18.2 KB, 153 views)

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