small crepe myrtle sprouts coming off my roots

Question

There are small crepe myrtle sprouts coming off my roots. How do I dig and plant them?

Answer 1

You can dig them up and detatch them from the mother root, but make sure that they have a bit of their own root system. Pot them up and place them in a shady place. Make sure that the the soil stays moist. Once you see new growth appear, they can be moved to their permanent location.

I will warn you though that the suckers will not likely look like the mother. Often, crepe myrtles will be grafted trees. This means they take a pretty but weak variety and graft it onto the roots of a hardier but not as pretty variety. The suckers actually grow from that rootstock. It will be a crepe myrtle, but just will look different from the mother tree.