hello tk ,Ive growed cm from time to time.And i usally plant several.What i would do is work up some ground real fine then lay the seeds on top and cover with some rotten or older sawdust.I would plant them in spring after chance of frost is gone.And keep the ground moist but not soakin wet

tktrooper: I read a few articles about crape myrtles, did a search on the web. I would post the links but every one of the articles had spyware in them and I did not want to expose any members on here to that.

Basically the articles said growing Crape Myrtles from seed is easy just use well drained soil and plant in a sunny area. Make sure to keep them watered and insect free. Also they like acidic soil. But there is no detailed information on how much sun, how much water, or exactly the best soil..<<sigh>>

I didn't know those little round things were seeds. <<Okay duh, sometimes I am clueless>>

I am clueless right along with you. The number of times I've said I didn't know that is becoming very numerous lol.

Any way there probably isn't any detailed information because they are an "easy grow". I'm finding that they are usually the ones with the least information.

I'm thinking of getting a trellis and maybe putting them in the big container we have in front of the busstation.

That's where I keep most of my aggressive growers.

Thank you again for the information.

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All crossables are crossed lol. No trellis? great that will make things easier.

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they referr to the dwarf CM as Mertylettes.They DO grow easy from seed& should keep the soil moist& they can even BLOOM 1st year from seed.They are hardy from Zones 7-10.They are also the LONGEST blooming tree 90-120 days of blooms.I have a long grow season so I can trim my seed heads& get a 2nd bloom.I prefer the ones that get 40 ft tall and bloom at the tops.(I KNEW hubby would not dig those 2 trees when we moved.I was lucky he tolerated the "boat load" of my plants,pond& a good bit of ironore rock.) I have 4 CM 3 pinks& a liliac(then forgot to note which one was liliac) these were mature trees....dug& hauled out of ground with tractor and cut back to about 2 ft 2 1/2 ft last christmas and have bloomed great.I have one that struggles& it didn't bloom,but its alive!
cuttings root easily!I rooted one stem off plant from old place.I'm sure it would have bloomed if the dog didn't chew it...or hubby weed eat it 3 times...or Gene park on it.I've had better luck with hardwood cuts like at THIS time of year,semi hard wood didn't do well in Oct& these trees take hurricane winds pretty good.You should check around if liveing in colder zones.They have a few that grow to a zone 5 if protected from winds& the Arbor day have added some to their program."The Indian tribe group" they have better disease restance& mildew resitance.I'd NEVER find my copy of southern liveing,but was an article in there on them It may have been this year,was a pretty watermelon pink one,but also had a list of places that sold them.I had looked the FL site one up.had 3 gallon 2 yr plants for $14 the ones blooming later in season were $12.

Oui....try rooting!I'd like a red!

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Njoynit: You really want me to root a red Crape Myrtle for you ?? I will try. I bought mine from a nursery for $12 each. I am not sure how tall they get. The lady at the nursery said she THOUGHT they were the 8-10 feet kind but she was not sure. They are only 3ft tall right now. My white Crape Myrtle is 6 ft tall and seems to be doing better than the others. It has light pink flowers in it too. <<not sure how that could be>> Maybe it is 2 trees..When it grows up it will be pink and white. The crape myrtles that get the most sun during the day are doing the best. They are suppose to get at least 6 hours of sun a day I think. But I do not know if brand new baby crape myrtles can take that much sun.

Anybody know how much sun a baby crape myrtle grown from seed can take??

My Experiment:

I have planted 2 different dishes of Crape Myrtle Seeds. <white> I put little rocks in the bottom of the dish. One dish has commercial potting soil. The other red Alabama clay from my vegetable garden.

I will keep you all advised as to the progress of these. I am curious as to which soil will work better.

Yep thats the way the seeds look.

I grew up around Tn red clay.I have some red clay on our hill(thats the bad side) also has some gray clay mixed in.we see bits of blue but not much.from times I've dug deep in yard(ponds,utility poles, fence post) my clay is covered with 3 ft at least of sandy loam.spot where a raised bed is planned.is very hard compacted clayish soil.Hey...it broke the tip on my shovel& I was just BEGINING.Plus it was used as a driveway for 2 yrs.

Yep.I'd like a red crepe.I've not seen them around here.mostly different hues of pinks& liliac lavendery stuff.I don't really care for lavendery ones.I'm doing camillias.rooting them on their parent.spagum moss soaked in root starter wraped with press& seal wrap and covering with foil.I future plans on some white wisteria too.I lost mine when I moved,my pink also,but pinks very hard to root and transplant.

I'd wanna know the PH of both soils.

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I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want!

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I HAVE SPROUTS!!!!!!



I hope you can see my little sprouts...The potting soil sprouts are doing better then the Alabama Clay sprouts. Although the dish with the Alabama Clay sprouts did fall off the window sill once..

The Alabama Clay is packed tight...Which I am sure makes it hard for little sprouts to grow roots well....

I had put these 2 dishes in sealed plastic ziplok sandwich bags. <<greenhouse effect>> on a window sill with southern exposure.

Here is a picture I found of my white and pink Crape Myrtle..I think there are 2 trees in this that is why it is that way.