Styling a collected Crepe Myrtle

Xanthe93 · Post by **Xanthe93** » July 11th, 2013, 11:49 am

hi, I'm quite new to bonsai but i read enough to know collecting trees is usually a good starting point so i went and collected a 10yr old crepe myrtle (it was there when we moved into the house so its probably even older) It has several old 'stumps' where my mother has repeatedly cut it down as it was in a very inconvenient spot so i had her permission to dig it up.

The problem was that the majority of the tree was underground and so the roots are quite thick and twisted around as it was growing in very heavy clay soils. Is it worth trying to bonsai this monster and what can i do to the roots to put it in a bonsai pot? It is only just coming out of dormancy now (still winter in australia) It has some green/white fungus starting to form in the old stumps - any way to kill it?

i drew a concept of what i wanted the tree to look like but haven't seen any bonsai that have the stumps like that. Also do crepe myrtle branches fuse because the spindly branches on it atm don't look very good lol
thanks in advance!

http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag5 ... 16496f.jpg
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag5 ... a40c1e.jpg
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag5 ... 5877a2.jpg
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Meegs · Post by **Meegs** » July 11th, 2013, 12:28 pm

What a lovely first collected stump!! That is beautiful starting material.
Probably best to give it a year or so to recover before styling it. Don't worry about those spindly branches, they will thicken

At this stage maybe tidy up the cuts while keeping as much as you can for future options. Then seal them up and leave it to grow this year.

Feed her up, let her grow and recover, and I think you will have a beautiful bonsai in a few years time!

Xanthe93 · Post by **Xanthe93** » July 11th, 2013, 12:33 pm

thanks, will cut paste and foil be ok?

Beano · Post by **Beano** » July 11th, 2013, 2:05 pm

Definitely worth bonsai-ing. These trees seem to just want to live. I just took a large branch cutting and several smaller ones and they are all budding well at the moment. Hopefully they're rooting as I'll be disappointed if its all stored energy.

The green and white fungus sounds like lichen? I have some of that on the big branch I planted, I was under the impression it was harmless.

I'd post a photo but on iPad and tapatalk app won't post photos.

Neli · Post by **Neli** » July 11th, 2013, 3:28 pm

Waw! That is fantastic mirtle...but your virt does not do it justice. Lt it grow for a year...and meanwhile think what will be the best way to style it. Dont remove too many branches and if new ones come, just try to direct them in the right direction before they are too hard to bend.

alpineart · Post by **alpineart** » July 11th, 2013, 7:09 pm

Hi Mate i collected one of these 12-18 months ago and mine has one 100mm shoot from the base , possibly from a root . .It stands about 1 metre high but no shoots have appeared along the length of the trunk . I'm hoping to see something come Spring , its still green all the way up just no shoots .

As Neli said leave all the shoots and direct them into a suitable placement .

Cheers Alpineart

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