crape myrtle question

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kays_camelot Port Sanilac, MI Jun 01, 2009

My son brought back three 4 foot tall crape myrtles last summer from a hunting trip in Georgia; one for me, one for a friend and one for himself. Now we all live in Michigan, zone 5 so I was very concerned. I planted mine in as sheltered of a place as I could and burlaped it with straw inside the burlap this winter; (which was especially cold). All three look dead except all of them have new growth coming up from the base. Of course, I want you all to assure me that they are like butterly bushes that die back each winter. please,please,please.=====

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jun 01, 2009

I think they're going to be very borderline in your zone, but if you protected them it's possible they would come back from the roots. At the colder end of their hardiness range, they will die back over the winter but resprout from the base (vs in warmer climates they don't die back).

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Jun 01, 2009

Your experience in Michigan will vary with the depth of frost in your soils. If you protect them annually from excessive low root temperatures, you'll get new growth from the base. That's how crape myrtles used to perform in KY, when we still had reasonably cold winters.

You have about zero chance of preserving woody growth through your winters, if you drop below -10ºF much. The one selection that has proven to be the most hardy here has been 'Sarah's Favorite'. I haven't had it freeze back at all since 1994 (when it got to about -28ºF) when it was killed to the snowline.

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