Crape Myrtle Help....

JBMorrey

Recently purchased this Crape Myrtle, looking to do a formal or informal upright and need to prune it as such, any tips as to where and when to do this would help, would also like to make the base a little thicker, but I'm sure that only comes with time. Any styling help and tips would be appreciated!! Thanks! I live in San Antoni,tx with temperatures already at 60-70 day and 50 or so at night!! It is currently outdoors getting full sun in the morning and at dusk.
James

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Crape myrtle1.JPG (16.4 KB, 112 views)

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Joanie

(grin) The usual advice is to put it into the ground or a growing box or raised bed, and grow it out. It'll take a while otherwise. There are several schools of thought on when to prune, etc. if you do this, so you need to do some research if this is the road you want to take.

The very basic way of thinking about this is that the trunk enlarges based on how much foliage there is, and between foliage and root growth you will get a larger trunk. Unrestricted root growth (in a big wooden box with good drainage, for instance, or in a good ground location) on top of a tile so that the roots spread nicely outward, will give you a better chance of getting a nice thick trunk. The foliage could be allowed to grow out, or it could be pruned to develop more, tighter branching.... but the very basic idea is to give the tree room and incentive to grow. Little bonsai pots don't give the tree the kind of growth you need. They restrict root growth, their dampness and temperature vary widely because of a smaller soil volume, etc. (I've even begun to plant several small trees into one big grow box, finding that the more stable moisture and temperatures and soil area benefit them in that way. Sort of in between a raised bed and a growing box for an individual tree. Maybe they like the company! They have to be compatible, though, or the same species)

Think of the bonsai pot as the frame around a finished picture. You only go to the pot when your tree is nearing what you want from it. Just as you wouldn't choose a frame before you paint the picture on the canvas, so you don't pot the tree into a bonsai pot until it is nearly complete, and the final stages are at hand.

There will, however, be more ways to think about this tree and more advice that people give you. Choose what you think is best and learn from it.

Joanie

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JBMorrey

Thanks, do you feel that the pot I have it in now is big enough? I live in an apartment and can't really plant it in the ground. Landlord would'nt like that I think! hehe I would like for the branching to be much closer together, it looks too spread out right now, so perhaps prune back right now and get some of the branching right, and then concentrate on thickening the base, or vise versa?


James

Joanie

First you have to thicken the trunk if you want a bigger trunk. Don't worry too much about the branches being long. You will cut them back, or completely off, eventually. If you want to position the branches, just worry about the first few inches and think about the angle you want them to come out of the tree. Wire them so that they come out at the angle you want, but don't worry about the rest of the branch. You can later cut the branch back so that it is only a few inches long, and grow the next section of branch. That way, the branch will taper.

The trunk is the important thing. No, the pot is not big enough if you really want to grow out the trunk. It needs to be several times bigger I would think. Make it a growing box. (search this forum for "growing box" and read the threads you find) Then buy a cheap bathroom tile like they sell at Lowe's, 4" x 4" or 6" x 6", and when you take the tree out of this pot, lay its roots carefully over the tile so that they spread out like a wagon wheel, away from the trunk. Use some cheap cotton string and tie the roots down... it will rot away later and won't hurt them. Fill the growing box with good soil that drains well, and plant the tree on the tile. Make sure that the roots near the trunk are covered, they probably will thicken up quicker if they are kept moist.

Crape Myrtle are good, strong, vigorous growers so in a couple of years you will notice a lot of difference. Keep reading and learning. It's a very nice little tree, lots of potential, so do these basic steps and you'll be on the way to a very good bonsai!

Again, there are other options and other opinions. Read, ask, and you'll learn what's best for you.

Joanie

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rockm

Um, not to be negative, but the top shoot looks dead. You might scratch a small portion of its bark with you fingernail. If there is no green tissue, the branch is dead and should be removed down to the next living portion of the trunk.

For what it's worth, trunks do not thicken appreciably under bonsai cultivation. Small bonsai do not become big bonsai. Plants grown for bonsai are grown out in the ground or in very large container (the bigger the area available to a plant's roots, the more it will grow up, out and increase in size) BEFORE they are put in display bonsai pots. Potting a bonsai is the final step in a long process..

RedPine

Hi,


I would forget about bulking the trunk up and just make a small tree out of it.I have included a basic sketch of a tree.

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Crape myrtle1~1.JPG (37.0 KB, 30 views)

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JBMorrey

You know I like that!!I think I'm going to do that...I'll post the finished product as soon as I can. woulod right now be O.K. to do such a drastic prune to the tree? Will this shock the tree?, and should I be prepared for anything?

rockm

Uh, if you're growing this species because of it's blooms--which is the biggest reason for using crape myrtle as a bonsai subject, I think--, chopping it into a shohin might not be the best option.

The blooms on crapes dont' reduce. Unless you're working with a dwarf variety like "chickasaw" or the like, the bloom spikes on your finished image will look very odd--they look odd on big crape bonsai too, but the effect isn't as noticeable on larger specimens. Crape grow very quickly and can take hard pruning well, especially if they're in the ground.

Also, as you hard prune, keep in mind crape tends to send up tons of root suckers from the root crown. This tendency doubles or triples when you hard prune. Root suckering will drain strength from other more established parts of the plant and should be rubbed off when it starts.

bwaynef

A continuation of rockm's post if I may: Crapes bloom on new wood. Continually cutting the tree back for it to fit into the shohin mold will prevent it from blooming altogether.

It will have to be allowed to "overgrow" a little in order to see blooms.

WF

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