Hi everyone, I’m searching for help with my crape Myrtle. It was planted 5 years ago and was growing beautiful, but needed to be transplanted due to landscaping. I didn’t want to loose it and worked very hard to save it. I trimmed it all back so it didn’t have to struggle during the transition. It has 3 main trunks. 2 of the trunks are again growing beautiful and flowering. I do not know what is causing this shriveled look on the one trunk. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
If the transplant has been recent it may just have to get settled in to the new location ! I would just give it more time and see what it looks like this fall !! I have not seen one do that before ! Did you put anything on it or fertilize recently ?
Possibly that trunk was damaged in some way during the moving process. But like Mart said, give it time, if there is damage and it's not too bad it could heal in the next few months. If it gets worse by then just cut it off at ground level and see if there is new growth next Spring. Oh, and watering it will not help, Crepe Myrtles should not have supplemental waterings after the first few months in the ground.
Thank you both. Damage is what I was thinking as all other trunks are fine and we transplanted 2 trees. I could not find any similar images of this type of growth online. In regards to watering, it just gets the regular lawn sprinklers. Nothing new was put on the tree, this was just the way it started growing this spring. It was transplanted last September.
It looks like herbicide damage to me. those aren't shriveled they are mutated. that thick leathery growth looks like what tomatoes do if they get 2-4D damage from people spraying their lawns for weeds.
Welcome @JennS. Yeah, I have to agree with @Dirtmechanic and @carolyn. Speak with your neighbors, if you have them, to see if they sprayed anything on their property. Looks like it may recover..mine didn't stand a chance. I had a garden patch in 1997 planted close to a fence, right next to a electric/yard light post. It was covered with climbing weeds. Well after I planted and everything started growing, I came home one day to find that everything in that garden had turned or was turning brown or curling really badly. I looked over to the pole and all the weeds were completely brown and because of the pattern of what turned brown, I then I became enraged...called the electric company and found out that they "SPRAYED" all weeds on light poles in that community that WINDY day. No notice that they were going to spray, whatsoever!! You can just imagine what happened next!! That's when I knew I was good at fighting for mine and others rights!! Long story short, they paid (literally) for that huge mistake! Give it some time and good luck...update us with pics of the tree
Hummerbum, good on you for standing up and saving future vegetation! Our state crew comes and sprays an herbicide along the side of the road (grass and weeds invade and break up the edge of the asphalt.) The first time I saw the herbicide truck coming, I rushed out with a plate of cookies and several cold sodas. I asked politely if they could keep the herbicide as close to the road as possible, since we had just planted several fruit trees. For 10 years our edge of the road has been herbicide-free. They simply turn off the sprayer, wave to me if I'm out, and turn the spray back on when they pass our fence line. Ah, the power of cookies!
