Update 2: The tree exploded.
As I expected, the tree rewarded me with an explosion of growth. Flower buds developed while I was in Denver at the ABS convention. Beautiful, but they need to be removed. All the energy the tree has was stored in the roots and branches. It is now using that energy to reproduce. I don't want reproduction, I want growth. Flowers will come off and I'll leave nearly all branches until next year.
It really is a pretty flower. If I want this tree to survive to next year, I'll keep removing the flowers so the tree can focus on more growth and energy storage. I won't touch the branches to wire or trim them; just flowers. Except for bad branch placement on the trunk, roots, or branches, all branches on the outer rim of the tree will stay. Crape myrtles will break on old wood and are basal dominant. Both of these features can be used to refine the tree once I feel it is healthy. You may say "But Bill, the tree is obviously healthy!" To which I must point out that the tree is under a great deal of stress. It is pouring out all of its stored energy. Reproduction is often a response to stressors. Reproduction itself is a stressor. It's an imperative to keep the species alive. Further, if I were to start selecting branches, shortening branches, and wiring branches, I would be placing most of the tree's energy generators in the trash. LEAVE THE TREE ALONE is my best advice for any repotted and defloliated stock. If I leave it alone, I expect to see fairly nice growth next year. If I leave the flowers and/or start working on branches there will be little energy in the trunk to push the tree into Spring. A crape myrtle can suffer everything I've done so far, but it needs time to recover. Putting it in a bonsai pot this year or next would be a death sentence. Bonsai should be teaching you patience. If you're impatient, get another tree, and another, and another.
I trimmed the branches when I potted the tree back in April. Everything that was removed was jammed into the soil. No rooting hormone. Now I'm being rewarded with growth. Nice. I'll see how these progress over time. One more thing, if you look at the soil line, you'll see the scar left from a crossing root in my last post. Just above the scar is a branch. I'm not sure what this means for closing the gap. I think it will help to close the gap. I would be more certain of this if the branch had developed below the gap. There will certainly be a little trunk swelling at the branch base, but if the swelling does not sag down over the scar, I'll have to remove the branch. The girth of the trunk above the scar cannot be allowed to grow wider than the girth below the scar while maintaining that ugly gap. Time will tell.
. .. and some worthless.
