I planted a 10 gallon yaupon holly when I was about 6 months pregnant. I talked my husband into getting it for me for Valentine's and he was probably kidding, but he told me to dig the hole. So, I dug the hole and also planted the stupid thing. My back was so sore for days even though I was very careful about only rolling it into place, not lifting, etc. But, I just had to have that holly!

Now back to the subject discussed here . . .

I know that most trees, including crape myrtles appreciate well drained soil. Crape myrtles probably will not survive in the same water logged conditions. See if you (well not you since you're 6 months pregnant) but rather someone else (maybe your husband?) can correct the drainage problem so the water runs away from your house and doesn't pool in those locations. This might mean bringing in top soil or even hiring someone to put in some sort of draining system (French drains, sub-pumps, etc.) depending on how bad it is.

It also sounds like they tried amending the soil where the trees were planted instead of planting them in the native soil - a big no, no that most here will tell you because it will cause the roots to grow only in the area where the nutrients are located and will girdle the tree, killing it.

Definitely correct the drainage problem before trying to plant anything else. If you don't correct the drainage, it will only be a waste of money trying to plant another tree in the same spot.

We have two very old crepe myrtles in our front yard near the curb. Our house is over 70 years old so I suspect these trees are also. They are quite tall, over 20 ft.

What I wanted to share is that we have done little to augment the yard and we have a LOT of clay. The little strip near the street where the trees are planted are pretty "low" because of the age of the street. Street gutters aren't more than 4 inches or so deep.

Bottom line, I think crepe myrtles may be one of the best trees for handling clay/gumbo.

Of course since you are planning on planting one new, I would recommend you trying a raised garden around the crepe myrtle and that would mean you could plant the tree a bit higher. Always a good thing to improve drainage in Houston.

But I think Crepe Myrtles are beautiful (even if they are a bit over-used) and I also think they are a very hardy-durable tree.

I just did a google search for "crepe myrtle" and gumbo and didn't find anything I could post here. (I'm definitely not an expert.) I would have sworn I read that they are "gumbo-tolerant" as well as a good xeriscape plant. Can't find it now though. Given that they bloom most of the summer, I think they are winners in my book.

Good luck.

Thanks so much for all of your responses. I think I'll combine your suggestions by
(1) enlarging the bed significantly -- maybe to 5' x 5'
(2) replacing the soil with a nice soil/compost mixture and
(3) raising the bed at least 8" above ground level

We're having gutters put on our house AND we'll be having drains put in as well, so hopefully the combination will eliminate the super-wet spots that we've had problems with.

Again, thanks for your help!

Roxanne

My full sun parking strip gets heavily flooded in winter for 3 months. I live in Sacramento. My 3 Natchez CM's don't look like they are going to make it past year 2. It's mid June and they aren't even in bloom. No new growth.

My son owns a small marina in Bardwell, Texas and it flooded a few years ago. Several of the old crepe myrtles stood in 5 feet of water for 3 months. They are the only trees, except the cottonwoods and willows, that did not die. Those trees took off and almost doubled in size. They are the largest crepe myrtles in Ellis County now, I think! So.... crepe myrtles cannot be over watered. Maybe someone had put weed killer on the lawn and it was in the water. Lawn weed killer kills LOTS of trees.

Crape myrtles are resilient for sure! A few years ago the city was doing some work in the alley. They dug up four crape Miami crape myrtles planted outside the fence line of my next door neighbor's property and stuck the roots in five gallon buckets of water for several weeks! They replanted them and they survived!