If planted correctly in even a marginally acceptable site, crape myrtles grow quite quickly with very little help.

If yours seem to be extra slow, then I'd look at the soil, the drainage, and/or planting conditions. If the conditions are bad for normal growth, then fertilizer is not going to cure your problems.

Now, if the crapes are already galloping along, then adding fertilizer to boost them into accelerated growth is the worst thing you can do. Accelerated growth can encourage diseases and insect pests, both of which can be a problem for crape myrtles.

As an aside, crape myrtles are one of the last woody plants to come out of winter dormancy. The cooler it is, the slower.

Eliminating completion from the lawn (if your crApe myrtles are planted in the lawn), and properly mulching could also be helpful. You don't give us details about your plantings, but, if your crapes seem stunted, details might allow us to better understand the situation.

They are planted in the lawn, in full sun. They are Natchez crepes. We have clay soil and I'm not sure if that's hindering the growth. I've had them for 2 years..and they just don't seem to be growing like they could be. We're in zone 6, had 2 very cold Winters the past 2 years. I have them covered at the bottom in the Winter to protect them.

Do you sprinkle your crepes with powered sugar?

But back to the crape myrtles...mine do well in clay soil. If drainage is really bad, then that could be a problem. Clay with reasonable drainage isn't a problem. If the cold weather isn't killing trunks or smaller stems, then I wouldn't think that it would be a cause for slow growth. If they are dieing back though, that could be part of the problem.

If it were me, I'd try removing all the turf around each plant and mulching. That should be a help. Not having to compete with grass for nutrients and water, having additional nutrients supplied as the mulch breaks down, and gaining the many other benefits of mulch should result in improved growth, at least over time.

I will do the mulch, thanks. I'll try anything that will give them the boost they need. I've never heard of sprinkling them with powdered sugar.

The powdered sugar reference was a joke.

How tall are they now and how tall when you planted them?

they more water you give them the more they will grow.

They so grow fairly fast. If you want you can give them some of the liquid plant food that miracle grow makes. I planted several last year and they went crazy growing leaves after i fed them the fertilzer. The clay soil is not a problem.

crikey ...

is the lawn fert'd ... if so.. they need nothing more ...

but by removing the grass .. and mulching ... we hope to at least keep away the weed killers and what not ....

if you did fert them.. you could be doubling up.. and that might be worse ... do understand.. .. their roots are out under that lawn ...

dont know where you are ... that might help ... are these things border line z6??? .. i know i have never seen them in 5 ... i think you need be a bit more specific on your location ... big city good enough ... and are they common in your city ... also.. how bad have the last two winters been????

but do understand... that plant culture aside... [what everyone is talking about] .. growth rate is genetic ... and you are NOT going to change that.. by fert alone ... they are not children.. food is usually not the problem .. all the other things mentioned usually are ...

did you plant them .. how long ago ... potted??? .. how did you plant them ... what did you do about severely circling roots.. if there were any????

ken

Further off topic, but since it was discussed.....

Crepe myrtle is a more recent variant of the term crape myrtle (or crapemyrtle). From what etymologists have determined, well over a hundred years had past before the variant even showed up as a misspelling of the original name. Up until very recently (within the past decade), the spelling with an a was the "overwhelming choice both in botanical sources and in other dictionary sources" (Michael Agnes, executive editor of Webster's). It is still the much more commonly used spelling by academic sources and horticultural experts. And, of course, the Crape Myrtle Society of America never called themselves the Crepe Myrtle Society of America (at least not officially).

All that doesn't really mean that the e-spelling is "wrong", but it can be beneficial to use the a-spelling. Google still gives better results (more professional and academic articles) when one uses crape myrtle. Interestingly, the crepe myrtle spelling has just recently surpassed the a-spelling among "common folk" (casual writers) in Google results. I guess one could say that the e-spelling is becoming more correct, as usage shifts. As for no right or wrong when it comes to spelling "common" names, I challenge you to spell it with a u! But who knows, the way things are going, that may end up being the preferred spelling eventually.

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Jah3774, don't think I am bothered by how you spell it. As mentioned, I do find it useful to use the a-spelling, but who knows, maybe it's like how the people, that have to have their closet hangers evenly spaced, find that useful. LOL

Getting back to the original question. 'Natchez' is listed as zone 6 in some sites. So it's borderline in your zone. This will definitely have an effect on growth. It may even die back some years. In warmer zones Natchez is one of the most vigorous growing crapes.

I've seen it spelled both ways, I was spelling it the the Southern way..

Gardengal48 thanks for clarifying.

I planted them 2 years ago summer 2013, and they were 2' high, potted, used a mixture of Peat moss and compost, they're planted directly into the grass, no mulching. I water them especially more in the summer since we've had hot summers. Spring we get a lot of rain, so no need to water them. Our last 2 Winters have been very cold-under average for us, and I had them covered with burlap at the bottom to protect them. Our grass is fertilized as well.

They are about 3' high now.

jah,

You are in the south, and your crape myrtle only grew a foot the first year?

Go outside when you get a chance and check the bottom of the little tree to make

sure you didn't plant it too low. When you plant a tree, it's best to "mound" it up, plant it so the root flare is almost above the soil. Look up online under a search for root flare, planting a tree too deep. Look at the pictures. Then go outside and look at the bottom of your tree, does it look as if you planted too deep?

Crapes grow like crazy in SC, unbelievable, so you should be looking at a tree at least 8 feet tall by now, mabey taller. Does it bloom? Just curious.

jah,

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, DO NOT PUT MIRACLE GROW ON IT.

EVER.

Plant a tree too high, it won't die.

Plant a tree too low, it won't grow.

They should have grown more than a foot in 2 years! I put miracle grow on mines last summer and it helped them out. This year they leafed out really well and are growing good.

Adding a little fertilizer at the beginning of spring is not a bad thing, honestly.

jah, I suggested some possibilities in my earlier post. But you simply haven't given us enough information to allow us to be helpful. By the way, I have clay soil, too. Plants of every kind grow like crazy here with no amending and very, very few fertilizer applications over the years.

So, you have to answer the questions about soil drainage, proper planting techniques, after care, etc.

I'm afraid that spelling Crape myrtle is not any more correct here in the south than anywhere else. I've stopped pressing the point, but it's always nice to spell even the common names of plants correctly. You're likely to find better information in your internet research.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I have another Natchez crape and its 10' feet tall in the front of my house. Grew like wild fire. You all have been helpful.

A lot of the crape myrtle trees around the Houston area are nice and "fluffy" with blooms and branches that seem to grow vertically. The three that I have planted however, are spindly and hardly ever bloom. The branches also seem to be more horizontal and downward directing. The fluffy crapes have the larger leaf size while mine have the smaller leaf. Can you tell me the difference? The other photo shows a spindly one in my front yard (foreground) with the fluffier pink one in the back. Of the three crapes I have, two were given to my by a friend, the other is either a Red Rocket or Dynamite.

want to remove the grass crape myrtles. What do I watch ?