Wrong time of year to be digging this up.

bboy, It is absolutely the wrong time to try and transplant but some home repairs have to be made and it has to be moved. It is currently in the only protected location that I have, so nowhere to move it to. I've nursed it from a twig and hate to think of it leaving, but I have no choice. Wish it were not so. :-( Dorothy

Cut it back hard and it just may work - who knows. From what I know of crape myrtles, my sense is that you could cut it back so hard that nearly all the foliage comes off in order to move it, and it might come back once it settles in.

Been in a situation like that myself - as a recipient.

When we were in Applegate Valley, working near Medford, an Ashland couple whom I pruned for, were going to cull two 11' tall shore pines with 4" trunks. Ended up moving them in July I think. Lost a few needles, but survived.

The next year, 2007, got a 16' tall himalayan birch from Jacksonville - a patio had to to there. Moved it home over the hill, it lost half the leaves (it was late June I think), and did fine last summer. Still going strong.

Autumn is by far my preferred time. Especially doing it for others.

On the other hand, I've never lost anything I tried, even having to bare root move a 20' tall weeping giant sequoia from Troutdale, Oregon, across Portland to Beaverton, on an 80 degree day - no defoliation, either.

It's feasible that a diligent person could get your and have it survive. I'd probably try it myself if we lived in Seattle.

M. D. Vaden of Oregon

Glad to let you know the crepe myrtle is finding a new home. Thank you for your comments and advice. We will keep them in mind during the transition. Dorothy

bboy is basically right on that not cutting back.

The birch I referred to either had a top that far surpassed it's rootball size, but I did not cut the top back.

The tree merely shed some interior leaves and retained the outer ones on it's own. The next spring, it had a full head of hair again.

 There is no need to top-prune landscape plants if post-transplant irrigation is available (and all
new landscapes need post-transplant irrigation!).
 The only time transplanted materials should be pruned is to remove broken, dead, or diseased
branches, or to make structural corrections to young trees.
 If pruning is warranted, use thinning rather than heading cuts to preserve tree structure

Here is a link that might be useful: The Myth of Top-Pruning Transplanted Material

If Dr. Chalker-Scott disagrees with me, I must be correct.

Research findings and new technology are slow to be incorporated into nursery and landscape practices. Tradition is important and has a distinct place in our society, however, blind allegiance to tradition stymies progress....

Following planting of bare root, balled-in-burlap or container-grown trees, remove only damaged branches or to aid branch spacing and development and appearance. Do not shear or prune branches indiscriminately....There is no advantage to indiscriminately pruning one-third of the top of the plant as has long been recommended

--Carl E. Whitcomb, Establishment and Maintenance of Landscape Plants (1987 (1991) Lacebark Inc., Stillwater)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lacebark Inc. Horticulture Research

Key words there are "bare root, balled-in-burlap or container-grown trees" .... as long as they've been properly dug and cared for, I agree. I guess I'm assuming in this particular instance that you'll never get a crape myrtle with a 5" diameter trunk out of the ground without losing 80-90% of the roots. Perhaps I shouldn't assume that.

>I guess I'm assuming in this particular instance that you'll never get a crape myrtle with a 5" diameter trunk out of the ground without losing 80-90% of the rootsFrom The Myth etc. linked to above:

Obviously, the practice of pruning the crown of a transplanted tree or shrub does not reflect what actually
happens to the plant physiologically. In addition to interfering with the plant's ability to establish its
roots, the removal of a significant portion of the crown also means the plant has lost biomass and cannot
photosynthesize at its previous level. Thus, plants that have been top pruned are hit with a "double
whammy:" part of their photosynthetic system is removed, and those resources that are left are directed
towards new shoot development. It's no surprise that root establishment under these conditions is
difficult

Hey - I could move it with or without reducing the top.

Probably could get at least 1/2 the roots.

: - )

lol

So then... how is an established tree, transplanted at this time of the year and without its top foliage reduced, supposed to not turn crispy after being moved and having most of its roots cut off? Is a fraction of its former root mass supposed to somehow magically take up enough water to support all that foliage?

I wouldn't argue the science behind those points (even if they appear to be unsubstantiated, sweeping generalizations) but they are still only factors to be weighted against the risk taken (and often lost) when something that big is transplanted without its top having been reduced.

If you could really get 1/2 the roots, I wouldn't reduce the top much if at all. I would expect a crape myrtle of that caliper to have quite an extensive root system though of course it depends on how it's been grown.

Whitcomb's chapter on 'Top Pruning at Planting' in his 1987 (1991) book begins with a section entitled 'No Support for an Old Practice'. Top pruning experiments are described and analyzed. His chapter 'Summary' starts with the statement

Arbitrary top-pruning has no place in modern horticulture

Local colleges with horticulture programs have his books in their libraries.

If someone hasn’t dug up your crape myrtle give me a call 918-691-9951 and I will come get it.