I received a beautiful crepe myrtle for my birthday. How can I winter this plant in Zone 5b?

Question

I received a beautiful crepe myrtle for my birthday. How can I winter this plant in Zone 5b?

Answer 1

I'm going to assume the plant you got is hardy to your zone.... it would likely be one of the ones named after the American Indian tribes....Hopi, etc....they are bred to be able to withstand the colder winters in your zone.... but.... first they have to have help getting thru their first few winters in the ground.....

first, after agood hard freeze and the plant has lost it's leaves, pile up a good mulch around the base of the plant and a little up it's trunk....set up stakes around it in a square.... use chicken wire to make a 'cage' around those stakes... be sure the wire won't touch the plant.... fill the cage with dry leaves, covering the plant... now wrap the cage in burlap, two layers worth, and bring the end up and over the top..... pin it to stay in winds..... use landscape pins or bricks to hold the cage in place thru storms.... leave it on the plant until your frosts are over in spring....

do this the second year, too... just trim it back enuff to get it the size you can handle with the cage....  the third and following years, the cage shouldn't be necessary, but the heavy mulch will still be.... you can lighten up the ammount of mulch as the weather warms....

if you got one of the cold=hardy MINIATURES then you'd just treat it as a houseplant when you bring it in for the winter...... just inspect it before you bring it inside so you don't bring in

any bugs!...

you might want to read this discussion...

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/...

ps... never use plastic .... plastic transfers the cold right to the plant rather than protecting it.... especially if the plastic can touch the plant... if you're building a greenhouse, fine... otherwise, no....

Answer 2

If potted bring it in.  Crepes are not very tollerant of cold and snow  -- brrrrr, zone 5b

Here in zone 8 they are hardy, like full sun (in the ground, not potted) and cuttings root in water.

good luck

Answer 3

put a garbage bag around it over the winter months.

Answer 4

duing the winter it will lose its leaves. i think you should overwinter your crape myrtle the same way people overwinter figs in zone 6b.

they wrap it with plastic and burlap. some put lots of leaves in the bottom of the plant around the trunk. also to prevent rot some also put a pot on the top of the plant so the water doesnt freeze the center. if you have a warm winter it will need little protection. if you have a cold winter the protection will be needed. take off the protection in early spring and put it on just before the first night below 15

Answer 5

I'm in zone 5/6 (columbus ohio).  Crape mytles do well around here if they're planted in a protected spot.  I.E. one out of winter winds. Planting hte east side of your house, or having solid fences, buildings or evergreens to the west and north (where the prevailing winter winds come from...it may be different for your location.).  Wrapping with a couple layers of burlap will also help.

If you don't mind it being a shrub, rather than a tree...you can do what I do and do worry about protecting it.  My grows in an exposed location, and it does die to the ground every year.  But every spring, it grows again from the ground, and blooms in summer through fall.  It grows about 3 to 3 1/2 feet each season for me.