The correct way to spell the common name for Lagerstroemia is crape myrtle, not crepe myrtle! It drives me nuts that so many Gardenwebbers don't bother to look up the spelling.

Anyway, there's simply not enough information here to even hazard a guess. Maybe if you could provide more information, especially what exactly led up to the point where the tree stopped showing signs of life, we could figure out some possibilities. Surely there's something else than what you've posted.

Sorry about the spelling but that's the way it was spelled on the tags that I've had for 3 of mine. I've seen it spelled both ways before.

No, there's absolutely nothing else that has happened. It looked great last year and nothing has changed. There are 4 large stems and only 1 has leafed out. There are no obvious signs of disease or damage to any of it.

From the information provided, it is anyone's guess.

Dan

It always feels better to have some idea of what happened, but I guess sometimes it isn't possible. If you decide to replace it, look carefully at the dead root system when you dig it out. If there are no signs above ground, maybe you'll see something below.

Thanks Brandon. That's definately something to consider if we have to replace it.

Unfortunately, the same thing happened to my japanese maple in the front yard, except only 1 branch has died, so I haven't done anything with it.

Did you do any pruning on it over the winter?

By the way, if you google "crape myrtle", you get 211,000 hits. If you google "crepe myrtle", you get 320,000 hits. So figuring out the correct spelling seems to be a major challenge! When it comes to spelling the common name in this case, I really could care less.

"By the way, if you google "crape myrtle", you get 211,000 hits. If you google "crepe myrtle", you get 320,000 hits."

Certainly not how Google reacts for me. "crape myrtle" produces 188,000 and "crepe myrtle" give 135,00. Besides that...

There is a "Crape Myrtle Society of America" but there is no such thing as a "Crepe Myrtle Society of America"

"Crape myrtle is the overwhelming choice both in botanical sources and in other dictionary sources." - Michael Agnes, executive editor of Webster's New World Dictionary

"The first reference to crape...came in 1685. Crepe first showed up in 1797." - Agnes

"The common name of this plant is crape myrtle not crepe myrtle." - Floridata

The National Arboretum, as well as almost all arboretums, uses "crape myrtle" not "crepe myrtle". See link below.

The reason that there are so many examples of "crepe myrtle" in Google, is because some people couldn't (not could, BTW) care less. The problem with that is that it frequently results in problems. Good information is much more likely to be found by using the correct spelling because experts are more likely to spell it correctly. Using incorrect spelling is more likely to hide good information and generally cause confusion. It may not be the most important thing in the world, but it can make a big difference in many situations.

Here is a link that might be useful: United States National Arboretum

Esh_ga,

The reason your "crepe myrtle" pulled so many results is because you weren't using quotes. A significant percentage of your results weren't even about trees at all! My point made again.

Good information is much more likely to be found by using the correct spelling because experts are more likely to spell it correctly.

Perhaps, but the point is that you have to know HOW to spell it correctly to begin with. If people don't even know how to spell something correctly then how can they search for it correctly? As for the way I searched for it, that is the way most would do it, I imagine (without quotes).

I much prefer to use the scientific name, not the common one, when I'm looking for information.

If the same thing happened to another spp of tree planted recently, I'd look at whether they were improperly planted - viz. too deeply.

Dan

Esh_ga, learning how to determine the correct spelling of words is something I find fairly easy (at least when I'm hooked up to the internet and have a spell checker). Typing both names into Google and reading just a few of the links should suffice in this case. I don't care if one person misspells the word. As you point out, it's an easy mistake to make, and, I make my share of mistakes. I just get frustrated that it seems like such a prevalent mistake here for some reason.

Anyway, Forensicmom, sorry about all the side conversation. I didn't mean for it to get out of hand.

Dan has a good idea!

Thanks Dan. The maple was planted 13 years ago and did perfeclt fine until last year. The CRAPE myrtle was also planted several inches above the surface and mounded up. I've planted many trees before and always make sure that they're not planted too deeply.

I have about 10 crepe myrtles that have done the same thing that yours did. It was the extreme cold, give them more time and at some point you may have to cut out the dead. The tree or shrub, whichever variety you are growing probably will live. I would suspect it is a shrub variety, not a tree variety. My tree varieties did not show any cold damage, just some of the shrub varieties. Of course, it may be acting up because you failed to spell it correctly when you wrote in your garden notes the day you planted them! Who cares how you spell itt.

Ar yu shur yu hav a "Crepe myrtle" an knot a "Crap myrtle"?

Hoseman wrote, "Who cares how you spell itt(sic)."

Hoseman, only people with intelligence. You needn't worry about it.

Maybe the burlap didn't decompose causing the roots to strangle other roots?

I can't believe the small remaining piece of burlap I intentionally left from maple tree, it was still there after 3 years.

Brandon7 seriously must get laid...

When someone comes to ask a question they don't look to get brow beaten.

Step off and take care of the angst instead of taking it out on others.

If people came to these sites because they were schooled in botany or even horticulture they wouldn't ask wieners like you.