Crepe Myrtle

[DaveL]

Hey guys,

Just putting up a pic of my crepe myrtle that I bought from a nursery in poor condition I was drawn to it because of the bark and interesting branch formations. I planted her in the ground last summer and pruned her back heavily. My future plans for this tree are to pull the crown down lower, work on secondary twigging and maybe into a pot soon. It's hard to tell from my crappy picture but it has a beautiful dome shape not unlike a poinciana.

I understand that this might not be with in typical bonsai fashion so i'd be interested in any styling advice also honest critique. Also when might be a suitable time to trim the root ball?

[Jamie]

hi mate,

this is some different material for sure, i think you will find the bonsai within on the lowest right hand branch, that would become the main trunk line if it were mine, it would need to be stood up more to make that the trunk line, the main trunk as is and left branch will make styling hard, so if it were mine i would remove them both, so centre and left gone. then would replant it more upright like said and grow on for another year in the ground, which you can style while in the ground and develop main branching and a twiggy structure

jamie

[astroboy76]

hey there, i have one of these as well. when i bought it from the nursery i broke the trunk in half, splitting it down to 1/4 of its height from the roots. i then left it for dead only to find out that 2 months later it was dense and full so i defoliated and then defoliated agina t end of summer and i tell u what, i didnt just get secondary branches but third branching. great ramification on these trees and EASY to acheive. i woudl suggest growing it till u are happy with trunk size and the basic branch structure (which i think already exists) then just let it gro, tip the ends of shoots and efoliate and with a full season u will have a great tree. attached is a pic of mine, the one i broke, this is after one growing season. i have now planted it in the ground on an angle and trimmed everything right back. this will force back budding. once i get a shoot growing near the base of the tree i will cut the trunk off and wire the new leader with some movement. in the groudn these trees grow fast and ramify the way we wish all trees did hehe

crepe myrtle.jpg

[astroboy76]

i agree. i would probably remove the bottom left branch and maybe everything but the bottom right branch. replant it on an angle so it stands upright like a new leader. it has nice movement and is quite thick. i would then work on shaping from there. these trees dont take long. if you are happy with its current shape i would prob just remove maybe the bottom right branch only. it may not conform to standard bonsai design but soem trees are made for breaking these rules so have fun with it

[miyagiman]

hi davel, this is a nice piece of material but it has quite a few options. one that i see is to remove the centre trunk, lay it to the left so the left trunk semi-cascades & the right trunk can be stood up & styled to suit the trees formation. just my 2 bobs worth, i know there are lots of other options & its a bit hard sometimes not being able to see the tree from all angles. cheers, miyagiman.

[Jamie]

hi mate,

i think i didnt explain myself to well, this pic will say what i see, the right hand branch/trunk has a great line, something to consider anyways.

crepe myrtle virt.jpg

cut the middle and left off, then stand the trunk of the right up by about 20-30 degrees. picture is pretty self explanitory anyways.

jamie

[DaveL]

Thanks everyone for your kind suggestions,

I get what you are going for there Jamie but how would you deal with the lower right hand branch "pronging" in two directions? These guys do ramify terrifically with almost immediate back budding.

Oh i forgot to mention in February this guy flowered profusely with a nice small pink flower, which was another reason why i was leaning towards the more low lying ponciana dome shape.

[Jamie]

I get what you are going for there Jamie but how would you deal with the lower right hand branch "pronging" in two directions?

hi mate,

if it were mine i would choose a line and stick with it, the trunk line i put in the black area of the virt is right there in the pic, i didnt manipulate anything apart from the planting angle, everything that isnt needed i would cut off, plant it back out and regrow the main branching, then in a year or two once the main branching has developed i would dig it back up and either put it in a pot one size larger than you want and develop the ramification. then it could be repotted once the ramification is developed to the size and shape pot you want

jamie

[Dumper]

i would do this
more of a penjing style

crepe.jpg

[kcpoole]

I was thinking the Same as Jamie
Cut it all back except the RH branch. Lift, root prune and the replant it with the branch more upriught as a new leader.
I woud also shorten the ends back as well to bring the eventual top down.
12 months 2 years and then lift it and develop in a pot from then

Good Stock

Ken

[kvan64]

Hi Dave. Very nice material you got there mate. Maybe some more photos at different angles will help us see the tree beter. It appears that there are already many good suggestions there. Whichever option you choose, don't forget why you bought the tree in the first place.
Cheers
DK

[dave]

Gday DAVEL.I have two crepe myrtyles that are about the same trunk diamater if not a bit bigger than yours that were literally tied with a strap and hooked up to the back of a car and ripped out then put on a trailer and transported to my place by a bloke i used to work with ,then i cleaned up the roots and potted up in some big old garden pots in mid winter .I potted one of them up two years ago and root pruned at the same time as all my other trees wich is late winter-early spring when their just starting to come back to life and theyve been very happy with that.I dont know about any ideas about styling,but one thing i can tell you from personal experience with them is that they are as tough as old boots!They do have great looking bark....