I would suggest September at least and maybe October. The temperature will be cooler and more rain.

Thanks so much for the info! The fact sheet gives us great info on trees and some shrubs that need moving! Looks like we have our work cut our for us when fall comes.

Good luck on your transplanting. In my experience, it has been a royal pain in the backside to dig up a crape myrtle. I cut one down that had grown to about 12 feet last year (5 yrs old). I cut the lateral roots and still couldnot budge the stump. I left the hole open after giving up. It came back this year and now is 8 feet tall and blooming. It is a Natchez. Let us know how you come out.

I just transplant a crepe myrtle and now it appears to be dying after 3 days. Is this normal. What can I do to save it

thanks
aharris

Here, the landscapers plant crape myrtle every month of the year following the homebuilding schedule. My neighbors added a big one this summer (remember this summer's drought???). It got a bit of the lawn irrigation water weekly and that was it. It never drooped once but gave only a bit of flowering in August.

aharris, I might be inclined to trim off most of the foliage (not all) so that tree can use the next month to grow roots before it goes leafless for the winter. Don't overwater it.

Pay to get it done. Save your backs. Dummies

I have had my 2 crepe myrtles for about 5 years, Theyre very healthy but were planted to close to my deck steps. I transplanted them in Nov 2010 and now its may 2011 and they havent pushed out any leaves. I peeled back some bark from different heights if the tree and is still green. What could be the issue of them both not "budding leaves"?

I dug a four foot one several years ago in the winter, potted it up, and then waited...and waited..and waited. Leaves finally came on around the end of August.

Daughter now has it at the corner of her garden, and it is still slightly later than most in pushing out leaves. However, it has grown in height and looks good.

Patience!

when can you transplant and can you take clippings and re root?

Have some small crepe myrtles under some pine trees never did real good want to move them when is the best time.

bkb & rlberry: The first and second responses in this thread are correct and apply to other plants as well.
However, Crape Myrtles are almost weeds and hard to kill, so almost any time would likely work. These trees grow offshoots that should transplant as well so there is no need to take clippings.

I transplanted two that were about 9 or 10 feet tall, last month, during the drought. I was unable to get all the roots. Both have survived and have put on new growth. I watered frequently. These plants are pretty tough.

I transplanted a 20 ft Crepe Myrtle in April cause someone was gonna cut it down. It's October now and the tree looks dead, but has shoots coming out the ground. I've know people say be patient, but for how long? Spring, summer, longer? When do I cut it down?

I just planted a couple Natchez and they got planted flush with the soil, perhaps 1/2" higher, but I had to beat the hell out of the containers to remove them since they were grown at the nursery with containers lowered in the ground, so the roots were severed. Also I guess they got wind stress driving 40-50 mph for 30 miles from the nursery. They were very heavy since those are tall 8 to 10 footers and I did it all by myself, but for quite a while they lay around on their sides for a few hours. Once I planted I added mulch and watered etc. The bottom of the holes was slushy after all these rains. Today I noticed the trees are getting coloured leaves and one tree especially its branches are drooping and leaves as well and some leaves dry, so I gave it a long watering again. Wonder if I should water it every day until it established since they got planted July 18? A lot of sources say do not overwater, but how much exactly is too much? Are drooping blossoms, drooping branches and some smaller ends of branches dry and breaking mean too much or too little water or simply transplanting stress?

Also, last winter or early spring I saved a huge crape myrtle (15-20') which was pulled by the construction guys and the root ball was minimal. Months later one of the trunks cracked open 1/8" to 1/4" in a lot of places on one side, wonder if it dried and died or should I expect it to recover after the winter the next spring? Many branches are dry and are breaking, but when I accidentally scratched the bark there's still some microscopic green layer under it.

Some people write, including here, that crape myrtles are tough and you can't kill them, they come back etc.

First of all, no one is talking about planting "container" Crape Myrtles! The question is about TRANSPLANTING and planting from containers is NOT transplanting. When a tree is transplanted it is already established in the ground with a mature root system, and many times it does not appreciate being moved. I transplanted a Crape Myrtle tree from my backyard to my front yard last August (2013), and it quickly "died" or at least appeared to. I left it in the ground, kept watering until winter, and this past spring many many leaves began to bud. I was so relieved, but my exuberance was short-lived as well. Now the leaves are almost all dead again and I fear I wasted an entire year trying to nuture this thing. I don't think Crape Myrtles appreciated being transplanted. I have what's known as a green thumb, and can't figure out why on earth this tree would not have survived except for the fact that it did not want to be moved. It's only about three years old too, very slim still, and less than eight feet tall with only about three main branches (about the size of a 15-gallon container tree). I'm actually going to try transplanting another tree AGAIN. I have another Crape Myrtle tree in the back that is about the same size, I'm guessing only about three years old and also very slim with a trunk diameter of only about an inch and a half, but I'll use the Transplanting Guide posted here a few years ago and make SURE I get a bigger root ball this time. I'll mulch this time, water well until the weather cools (it's September but in California it's still near 100 degrees every day), I always plant slightly high (I was doing that WAY back in the day when nursery people told everyone to plant at grade), and I'll just have to hope for the best. I'll repost next spring with the results.

flowerpower1234 - You transplanted it in summer. They do not do well at that time, nor do many shrubs. I have transplanted several crepes, in fall and late winter/early spring. Most have survived & thrived, but a couple of smaller ones died.

Should the crepe myrtle be pruned prior to or after transplanting now in January, in SE Texas?

Transplanting in the summer is not the reason (The Sacramento Tree Foundation assures people they can plant and transplant any time of the year here, and I know that from decades of gardening). The root ball was too small. Crape Myrtles LOVE the heat, it was watered well, AND it came back the following spring. It didn't have enough of a root system. I decided not to bother the one in the backyard. I planted a Sequoia in the front yard instead since we didn't really need another shade tree. Sequoias are evergreen and make the neighborhood look "woodsy."

mmburney - That's the question I need answered too. I'm about to move at least two very large ones and need to know whether I can get them down to manageable size first.

I like this thread, it's very interesting!

I was impatient and decided to transplant 3 crape myrtles (planted just a year ago...I live in OK) & now they look very unhappy (hence my search for how to transplant a crape myrtle, which is how I found this thread). Of course, I will be patient and hope for the best that they come back next summer.

I planted 21 crape myrtles this past week as screens for my fences and I can't wait to see what happens the next 5 years!

You can plant them (from nursery pot) any time but keeping them watered in the dog days of summer could be risky. So I think starting now (until before frost, the weather is cooling off,) is a better time.

But removing them and transplanting in another location is a different situation. It will depend on the size and age of the plant. In this case I would do it when the plants become dormant. ( All the leaves are shed and the sap has gone down and stored in the root system.

Sey

July 22 or so....in the South of the Houston area. A recent relocation from PA to TX has been a good transition for my planting beds around the house.

So far my challenge has been to get. HOSTA to grow to any size down here.

it just so happens that I just bought ALL the planting soils organic soil pest garden soils sand etc. with the "full intent to transplant a 4 year old Crepe shrub.(its never been pruned in this Development. It's one of three, but blocking a Bedroom window and can't be seen under a young Oak Tree Canopy.. My PLAN was to Transplant it NOW.., this week. I figured my EXCELLENT Skill and Success in PA would surely work in the area of Texas, near the Gulf would work here.

After hearing everyone's experience, I think I will WAIT UNTIL FALL ... October I think. FOLLOWING THE TEXA RECIPE SEEM SMARTER TO ME...., but waiting is HARD. My crepe does need "shaping" and I'm trying to figure out what'll look like. I'm thinking that I'll "shape it" after the last flower petals drop. Any time I've Transplanted a shrub, bush or Tree in PA, I've ALWAYS pruned the upper Growth to some extent depending on the volume of Rootball I'd been successful in removing it. Bigger ball less pruning. Smaller ball more pruning. Tamping in the rootball at points along the way, with existing and amended soil for a tight fit to the planting hole/sight was key for me. So I'd guess that'd be true with Crepes. East coast watering in the Fall for these plants was every other day, to a depth equal to the base of the root ball....4-8 gallons est.

Back to Crepes, it sounds like Fall Transplant and Don't over water. Mulch the area..., create a V-shaped trench around the tree and planting area. Don't build a "mound" of Mulch, rather create a shallow "bowl shape" around the Tree that encourages water to filter down onto the Root ball.

Ed..... The ....Too Long Story Teller"

I realized this week that I had I planted a Catawba and a Tuscarora too close together a few years ago. While one has a lovely shape, the other is being squeezed and isn't happy. It is now mid-August. I want them separated NOW but understand it is the worst time to do it. Patience has never been my strong suit, but I will mark my calendar for late fall to watch for the leaves to drop.

Will crepe myrtles roots go under your slab foundation and sidewalks?

Taylor's nursery in Raleigh says they transplant theirs in late winter /early spring. Before they leaf out.