It's Alive!!!!!!

Carol 83

Carol 83

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So, last summer I received a nice Crape Myrtle from @Vin who was looking to downsize for a move. I was a little concerned about a deciduous tree grown in Florida in our winters. Crapes are always the last thing in my landscape to wake up but this tree was not moving, even after the yard ones did. I told my son to water everything even if it looked dead while we were on vacation but I held out little hope for the tree. Lo and behold, when watering tonight I saw this, on July freaking 29th. I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket now.it;s alive.jpgit's alive2.jpg
 
Carol 83 said:
So, last summer I received a nice Crape Myrtle from @Vin who was looking to downsize for a move. I was a little concerned about a deciduous tree grown in Florida in our winters. Crapes are always the last thing in my landscape to wake up but this tree was not moving, even after the yard ones did. I told my son to water everything even if it looked dead while we were on vacation but I held out little hope for the tree. Lo and behold, when watering tonight I saw this, on July freaking 29th. I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket now.View attachment 608208View attachment 608209
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Congratulations!! But Don't count your chickens before they hatch.. when tree's wake up this late there is still a big chance of dieing anyway so if it where my tree i would be treating this tree like you just repotted it with afternoon shade and being careful the amount of water I give it. Not that you didn't know that already,, but thats just my experience with late leaf outs..
 
I had a southern hackberry do this mid summer after breaking dormancy very weak then being repotted by my dogs twice over the next several months. I named the tree Lazarus because it did everything that dying then dead trees do 😬 before the miracle happened. Anyway, it's a great feeling to see a tree you'd given up on beginning to grow again:).
 
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Usually if I have a tree that is alive but not leafing out a dose of cal-mag fertilizer Usually gets it to act right. I had a field maple this year that just exploded with growth after I fertilized it. I have a Japanese larch that leafs out but then stops and the buds near the tips of the branches remain closed for some reason until it gets the first dose of cal-mag for the year. I haven't looked into why it works. Make sure to keep feeding your tree so it's able to start storing nutrients for winter.
 
I had two small crepes in nursery pots that appeared to be dead. One got tossed on the compost, but the other one got overlooked. At the end of June when the ones in the yard were preparing to bloom, the dead one in the pot came to life like yours. I have no idea why and not much confidence it will last, although it's fully leaded out now.
 
My girlfriend revived 2 azaleas in one gallon pots from her mother's service after she died. my girlfriend just stuck them up against the house in the flower bed in the pots didn't do anything with them. they sit there all winter withered and Brown and dead looking. They didn't come back to life the following spring so were thrown in the brush pile. well two years later we noticed the one was budding out in the brush pile. It is now planted in the ground and has been growing the last 3 years. Seams some just don't want to give up. Best of luck with yours.
 
Good news now but next spring the tree may not wake up for good. It is only about 12 weeks until first frost begin to arrive. You look like you’re at the northern end of the crape myrtle hardiness zone and first first may be around the first or second week in Oct.
Crape like HOT weather. They bud out and flower here in mid-late July depending on the soil and subsoils temperatures at the roots.

The growth on yours will hopefully harden off before Oct. growth has to lignify and leaves have to mature to photosynthesize and provide for the plant. That can take a few weeks

it is going to require some protection (likely frost free but not above 39 or so) for the winter.
 
I may be completely off but I would give this guy sun.
Not sure what the weather is there, but I have seen my little cutlings respond to warm weather like they are olives. So I would let them soak in as much UV as they can. Add a bit of shit and water and see them run. I am optimistic these can give you a massive happy surprise.
Guess we'll see in 8 months!
 
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I understand it might be dicey getting it through this winter, but do have a detached garage that only gets below freezing if it's extremely cold. In the meantime, I'm happy it's still hanging in there and will move it to the south side patio to get more sun. 🤞
 
Carol 83 said:
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I understand it might be dicey getting it through this winter, but do have a detached garage that only gets below freezing if it's extremely cold. In the meantime, I'm happy it's still hanging in there and will move it to the south side patio to get more sun. 🤞
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Maybe add supplementary lighting for it in the garage over winter? I plan to do this with my azalea as I've been instructed.

Good luck! Glad your persistence has given it a chance for it to pull through.
 
Carol 83 said:
Two days later. View attachment 608485
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As expected, multiplication!
I would consider it a mistake to baby this through winter -assuming it gets a solid 2 months of growth in. Trees have very little memory, and if you just let it go dormant with your local weather and store as you always would, it should be fine.
 
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