some kind of artificial shade would be supreme.. especially aimed towards sun on the plant in the heat of the day.. say noon to 7 ...

as to ripping it off an oak.. well .. that wouldnt be my first choice ... but if oak pruning is done for another reason.. i dont know why you wouldnt use the resource ...

how big are these things ... do you have any house window screens that could be staked ... would they fit under an umbrella...

you have provided no scope of the project.. if we are talking 8 foot plants.. i am stymied.. if we are talking 2 foot babes.. you have many options ...

a pic would sure clarify it all ...

if these were potted ... personally i would have held the pots in full shade until proper planting time... but that is water under the bridge ...

ken

We had a storm on Friday afternoon, which blew some of the branches off of the Oak, that's why we were trying to use those for shade. As for their size...they are only 1-2 ft tall...very new and not potted when I got them. I do not have any window screens and not enough umbrellas to use (there are 5 different trees in all). I watered them 4 different times yesterday, between 8 am and 8 pm, and they are still wilted. I hope the heat is not too much for them.

Do you think it would help if I put black trash bags over them for a while?

Placing a black trash bag over them would be like sticking them in a deep fryer.

If you use the oak limbs, just be sure the wind won't blow the limbs on top of your little trees.

That's what I thought...but that's all I have to use for shade. I suppose I'll just leave the oak limbs for now and just hope the little trees will make it. Thanks for your help!

I just reread your post above about watering them four times in one day. No matter what type of soil you have, that's too much! You are likely to drown them unless you have nearly pure sand, and even then there's no need to water them four times per day. Use your finger to check for soil moisture before each watering. You don't want the soil at root level to dry out, but the soil surface should show signs of drying before you water. Try to keep the soil, at root level, moist but not wet.

As for other ideas about shade, try something like a sheet suspended from a fencepost frame, or burlap stretched between two lawn chairs, etc. My brain isn't thinking up all the possibilities right now, but hopefully you get the idea. Just be sure that whatever you use is sturdy enough to hold up in the weather.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

Thanks for the link, I will definitely use this in the future. I checked on my trees again on Sunday morning (I was going to water them on Sunday morning about 8 am and again Sunday night about 8 pm, instead of so many times), but a storm came up again so the watering wasn't needed. However, by Sunday afternoon, all of the leaves were almost black...I suppose from over-watering or the sun burned them up! Not sure. Sadly, I guess I killed them in only 1 day!! Do you know if they can be saved? Or will I need to start all over again? I also have some that I have rooted in pots...I suppose I can just wait until Fall and plant the rooted ones. Never try planting in the Summer here again! What would you suggest?

I planted three crape myrtles last July here in Texas and all have done fabulously. No shade was provided. I would guess if anything maybe they are being overwatered.

Crapes are tough, so I wouldn't just rip yours up and give up yet. They could regrow some leaves. Just start watering them correctly. And, no need to worry about the shade now. Keep your fingers crossed and give them another chance. If they don't grow leaves in a few weeks, you can try again in fall when conditions are much more favorable.

OK, I will be patient and start watering them correctly...hopefully they will hang in there! I'll let you know.

Update: OK, now my "little trees" are just little sticks. I continue to water them once per day, in the hopes that maybe the roots will live and be alright. Should I go ahead and clip all of these sticks off? Any further suggestions anyone?

Well, it doesn't cost much to keep watering them. But I suspect they are TOAST. Scratch the stem. If still green, keep taking care if them. If brown, toss em

OK, thanks! I'll try that.

I have scratched the stems of all 5 little trees, and they are still green!!! I guess this means that they MAY make it after all!

I swear crape myrtle's are weeds! I dug up two fairly large crapes this spring because I thought they died over winter and threw them on the burn pile (in the open exposed to full sun). Two weeks later I get around to burning and low and behold BOTH crapes had sprouted with no additional water besides 2 showers with the roots exposed to full sun all day and the new growth was already over a foot! I then planted them a week after that still with no additional watering and they have grown like the weeds they are. They are flowering just like nothing happened with easily over a dozen stems over 2 feet long now. And in one place in the flowerbed they were moved from, a severed root has sent up 5 stems for a new crepe. I'm going to move that in the fall and expect it to do fine.

Point is they are extremely hardy and if these bite the dust on you, as brandon already said, you can try again in the fall to begin your crape forest. Don't worry if you do end up losing these "experiments" but it is encouraging they are still green.

That is amazing! And great news to hear (for me), maybe I won't be able to kill these...and I can also plant my little rooted trees this fall! Then, if they all survive, I'll have 10 crepe myrtles! Very excited to see how everything works out!