Planting Crepte Myrtles in August ???

[umpy]

My wife found a sale on crepte myrtles and bought a dozen for me to plant. (always doing sweet things like that ) Should I wait until cooler weather to plant them? Or should I plant them now ? Any other tips also appreciated.... I live in Brazos Co. heavy clay soil.

[kbrew]

Are they in pots? If they are, they are better off in the ground than in a hot black plastic pot. Otherwise, you can plant them in the Fall.

Kent

[umpy]

They are still like the nursery had them, I put them in the shade of one of my oaks, all bunched together to support each other from the wind.
We water them daily (only had them 4 days)

I thought about seperating them slightly and filling in with mulch until planting time. Good idea???

[kbrew]

I would plant them now. They are less likely to dry out in the ground. Just be sure to soak them really well before planting and follow the tree planting tips found in the tree forum.

This isn't the ideal time of year to plant, but they should be fine since they won't lose many roots. Untangle any roots that might girdle the trunks and don't plant too deep.

Kent

[qmj]

I planted mine in late May or early June, and they are blooming . I have also been planting hollies, hibiscus, salvia, lantana, Mexican petunias, and a Texas sage, allin the past few weeks. We are on a black clay hill in full, blistering sun, and the wind blows and dries out everything. Cedar mulch helps a great deal. Crepe myrtles are tough; you can see them blooming at old abandoned house sites with no care at all. I soak the root ball in a bucket of water while I dig the hole, fill the hole with water, add the plant, fill in with the removed soil, pour the contents of the bucket over, and finish soaking in the soil with a hose to settle it, then mulch . They need a lot of water until they get established, but not for long. Be sure to remember to loosen the roots. This late in the season, all my sale buys have been root bound. I hack into the root ball from the side and make 4 slashes from top to bottom like pie slices. Then you can spread the roots out some. Hope this helps.
QMJ

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

I planted on a few days ago. It's been blooming continually for weeks in the gallon pot and since planting.