Jump to content

Menu

Need ASAP master gardener - question


sheryl
 Share

Recommended Posts

Will be going to Ohio soon.  I plan to cut suckers (hopefully there are some) from my Grandmother's 100+ year old crape myrtle tree.  A couple of years ago I tried growing from clippings but it was the wrong time of year to try - Oct.  While not impossible to launch and grow under those conditions it was not something I could do.   Maybe someone more experienced could have.  

So, I was told to "dig out" suckers and roots.  QUESTION - what size pot do I need?   I want to get a few.  

Also, would like to know tips on growing from seed.  I was told after flowers bloom and much later then the seeds could be grown.  

My cousin and her husband recently passed away and when their kids sell their house I want to uproot/transport my Grandmother's plant back to NC.  It was originally planted at my Grandparents house in southern Ohio.  They passed away and it was uprooted to my aunt's house.  She passed away and about 12-15 years ago it was moved to my cousin's house.  It seems like a big task and not sure about the 7 hour drive to its new home.   That is one reason why I'm wanting the sucker and root to launch!!!  

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We recently did something similar. The place has been neglected for 30 years and no one knows what was there and it was incredibly difficult to fight through the weeds and neglect but we found several things we were looking for. 

My advice:

Look up garden resources both near your grandmother's home and where you live. Formal and informal garden clubs have been an incredible resource for all things and they absolutely love to enable IME. Be open to a little old lady with garden tools coming out to help and give you way more information than you know what to do with.

On a more practical level, take more than you think you will need or want. If they all grow then you get to be the enabler for your local garden group. ;) We took a couple dozen clippings of the plant we wanted and used 5 gallon buckets filled with soil from the property since it is excellent. The %$*# squirrels got into one bucket and destroyed everything and we had one really nice one coming along in the other bucket but when I went out today it was dead. There are only a couple more left that may survive. 

Be mindful of the temperature inside the car when you leave it to run to the bathroom or grab food. It might be wise to take a second person who can stay in the car and keep it running and take turns running into stores.

 

Happy plantings 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

A 3 to 5 inch wide pot should be heaps big enough to do a root sucker cutting. 

Make sure to prune it back

Prune what?  I know to take all but 3 leaves off "clippings" but this is the root/sucker.  Am I not getting something?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, SHP said:

We recently did something similar. The place has been neglected for 30 years and no one knows what was there and it was incredibly difficult to fight through the weeds and neglect but we found several things we were looking for. 

My advice:

Look up garden resources both near your grandmother's home and where you live. Formal and informal garden clubs have been an incredible resource for all things and they absolutely love to enable IME. Be open to a little old lady with garden tools coming out to help and give you way more information than you know what to do with.

On a more practical level, take more than you think you will need or want. If they all grow then you get to be the enabler for your local garden group. 😉 We took a couple dozen clippings of the plant we wanted and used 5 gallon buckets filled with soil from the property since it is excellent. The %$*# squirrels got into one bucket and destroyed everything and we had one really nice one coming along in the other bucket but when I went out today it was dead. There are only a couple more left that may survive. 

Be mindful of the temperature inside the car when you leave it to run to the bathroom or grab food. It might be wise to take a second person who can stay in the car and keep it running and take turns running into stores.

 

Happy plantings 

I was wondering if we should use the soil it's already in.    So, are you saying a 5 gallon bucket.  I was hoping for something smaller just to transport.  Would that work?  Size?  Then WHEN should I upgrade to larger pot?  And, that new size?  Don't have time to connect with anyone.  This is very soon.  Temperature.  Aww.  What should we aim for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, sheryl said:

I was wondering if we should use the soil it's already in.    So, are you saying a 5 gallon bucket.  I was hoping for something smaller just to transport.  Would that work?  Size?  Then WHEN should I upgrade to larger pot?  And, that new size?  Don't have time to connect with anyone.  This is very soon.  Temperature.  Aww.  What should we aim for?

I don't know what temperature to aim for as I don't know the weather during the future day. If you wouldn't leave your dog in the car you probably don't want to leave the plants.

I used 5 gallon buckets because 

They are cheap

I had a few already

They made dragging the plants and soil from the site to the car easier since we didn't have a wheelbarrow

I was starting multiple per bucket

I was taking soil

You can use smaller pots but you may find that several smaller pots takes up more room than a 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of plants in it.

Upgrade pots when the plant is nearly root bound. Or fully root bound. Or before it becomes root bound. It depends on who you ask to be honest. But it will take a while for the roots to establish so it isn't something you will have to worry about right away. I am 8? 9? Weeks from when we took clippings and the ones staying alive are just starting to have small root balls. Even if they all had root balls they have plenty of room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The size of the pot you’re going to need will depend on the size of the cuttings or suckers you get. Just make sure the roots, if there are any, aren’t terribly crowded. All you need initially is to get the suckers home safely; you can always do a better job of planting them once you’re home.

Assuming you start with a 3-5” pot like Melissa said, once you see root growth around the drainage holes and significant top growth, you can transplant to larger pots if you want. All you really need to do is avoid letting them get pot bound: i.e., don’t let the roots circle round and round inside the pot, forming a tight mass. That will take a while, so don’t let it stress you. I’d use 3-5” pots for roughly 6” cuttings, several per pot, or several larger rooted suckers in a larger pot.

As for soil, again, basically any decent soil will do at first. What they’ve been growing in will be fine, or you could bring a bag of potting soil. You just need to keep them moist and, as a previous poster said, don’t let them roast in a hot car on the way home.

As for pruning, if you dig up suckers with roots, they might be 2-3 feet tall (or more!), and that might make them hard to transport. So, you can lop off the top, cutting them down to a manageable size. I’d try to leave some leaves. Basically, just be aware that they’re probably losing a portion of their roots, so they can’t support as many leaves as they have had. Keep the leaves and remaining roots roughly proportional.

It’s not rocket science; no need to worry about precise details like pot size or exact soil mix. Anything other than pure sand or gravel, on the one hand, or pure waterlogged clay on the other, will probably be fine. Just ordinary, evenly moist but not soggy soil. Easy peasy.

Edited by Innisfree
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there area lot of suckers available you could even transport some "bare root" between layers of damp newspaper. Get as many as you reasonably can, maybe a few in pots, a few clippings with rooting hormones (greenhouse can advise), a few that are between newspaper with just incidental soil attached... DH does things like this and occasionally has good success and occasionally nothing makes it.

When you get home and pot them properly, you may want to circle them with rings of chicken fence to discourage squirrels and rabbits for a year or two. Depending on your climate you may also want to bring them into the garage to over winter in milder conditions until they are established or planted in the ground.

Become one with the plant mind, @sheryl 😄

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have taken root suckers from olive trees and roses and grown them successfully. Take the root sucker by digging out as much of the roots that you can, wrap the roots in wet paper towels and enclose the root part inside a plastic bag or ziplock bag. 6-12 inch long suckers will do. Take a few of them. Don’t let the paper towels dry out. Don’t let the plants be exposed to the heat. If you can get rooting hormone from a nursery, rinse the roots and apply as per instructions. Pot in a 4 inch container with loose, well draining potting soil and water regularly. When you see new growth, you can move it to the sunlight.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, sheryl said:

Prune what?  I know to take all but 3 leaves off "clippings" but this is the root/sucker.  Am I not getting something?

I have only ever done root cuttings from a Lilac . The sucker was about 10 inches long. I got some root and the sucker. I pruned back the sucker at least half . I trimmed the root where I had to tear it off the mother root. I did 7 sucker cuttings,  6 took

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, mathnerd said:

I have taken root suckers from olive trees and roses and grown them successfully. Take the root sucker by digging out as much of the roots that you can, wrap the roots in wet paper towels and enclose the root part inside a plastic bag or ziplock bag. 6-12 inch long suckers will do. Take a few of them. Don’t let the paper towels dry out. Don’t let the plants be exposed to the heat. If you can get rooting hormone from a nursery, rinse the roots and apply as per instructions. Pot in a 4 inch container with loose, well draining potting soil and water regularly. When you see new growth, you can move it to the sunlight.

This  is what I have done in the past and successfully transplanted a Japanese Maple tree.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, SHP said:

I don't know what temperature to aim for as I don't know the weather during the future day. If you wouldn't leave your dog in the car you probably don't want to leave the plants.

I used 5 gallon buckets because 

They are cheap

I had a few already

They made dragging the plants and soil from the site to the car easier since we didn't have a wheelbarrow

I was starting multiple per bucket

I was taking soil

You can use smaller pots but you may find that several smaller pots takes up more room than a 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of plants in it.

OK, got that!  I was going to ask if you potted several clippings in to same pot.  Must get planters asap.  Is the "on-site" soil ok or should I mix that local soil with a "bought" bagged of premium soil" too?  It will be 65 - 72 degrees in the car.  Our dog is not going with us this time so it will be a bit warmer.
 

Upgrade pots when the plant is nearly root bound. Or fully root bound. Or before it becomes root bound. It depends on who you ask to be honest. But it will take a while for the roots to establish so it isn't something you will have to worry about right away. I am 8? 9? Weeks from when we took clippings and the ones staying alive are just starting to have small root balls. Even if they all had root balls they have plenty of room.

I'm not understanding this as we are digging up the entire sucker with root intact.  So, are you talking about "more" root growth in number and growth for the existing one we keep with sucker.  This is not a clipping but a sucker.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Innisfree said:

The size of the pot you’re going to need will depend on the size of the cuttings or suckers you get. Just make sure the roots, if there are any, aren’t terribly crowded. All you need initially is to get the suckers home safely; you can always do a better job of planting them once you’re home.

Assuming you start with a 3-5” pot like Melissa said, once you see root growth around the drainage holes and significant top growth, you can transplant to larger pots if you want. All you really need to do is avoid letting them get pot bound: i.e., don’t let the roots circle round and round inside the pot, forming a tight mass. That will take a while, so don’t let it stress you. I’d use 3-5” pots for roughly 6” cuttings, several per pot, or several larger rooted suckers in a larger pot.

As for soil, again, basically any decent soil will do at first. What they’ve been growing in will be fine, or you could bring a bag of potting soil. You just need to keep them moist and, as a previous poster said, don’t let them roast in a hot car on the way home.

As for pruning, if you dig up suckers with roots, they might be 2-3 feet tall (or more!), and that might make them hard to transport. So, you can lop off the top, cutting them down to a manageable size. I’d try to leave some leaves. Basically, just be aware that they’re probably losing a portion of their roots, so they can’t support as many leaves as they have had. Keep the leaves and remaining roots roughly proportional.

It’s not rocket science; no need to worry about precise details like pot size or exact soil mix. Anything other than pure sand or gravel, on the one hand, or pure waterlogged clay on the other, will probably be fine. Just ordinary, evenly moist but not soggy soil. Easy peasy.

Oh, my!  This is detailed and helpful too!  Will remember that I can repot again once I bring these suckers home.  How will I know if they are becoming root bound roots - circling inside?  If I use 5 inch pots and take clippings that may be what?  2-3 feet with sucker and root?  The sucker will be top heavy, no?  Lop off top of sucker........on a 2 foot sucker (root not included) how far down could I cut it back?  🙂  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, mathnerd said:

I have taken root suckers from olive trees and roses and grown them successfully. Take the root sucker by digging out as much of the roots that you can, wrap the roots in wet paper towels and enclose the root part inside a plastic bag or ziplock bag. 6-12 inch long suckers will do. Take a few of them. Don’t let the paper towels dry out. Don’t let the plants be exposed to the heat. If you can get rooting hormone from a nursery, rinse the roots and apply as per instructions. Pot in a 4 inch container with loose, well draining potting soil and water regularly. When you see new growth, you can move it to the sunlight.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I need a video conference call!  We have old rooting hormone.  Does it lose potency?  Use or buy new?   I'm trying to understand how to dig roots - they will be long, no?  I'll have to spiral a bit in pot.  ??  And, the sucker will be top heavy in a small pot.  ??   Paper towels.   This would certainly make it easier.  What about soil moistened in baggie?  Keep this baggies in a box.  So, when I get these babies home.  WHERE do I rest them?  Inside?  Outside?  How much sunlight?  In full sun?  Do I need a growing lamp?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I have only ever done root cuttings from a Lilac . The sucker was about 10 inches long. I got some root and the sucker. I pruned back the sucker at least half . I trimmed the root where I had to tear it off the mother root. I did 7 sucker cuttings,  6 took

OK, this helps too!  I was afraid to trim off mother root but one has too.  Got it!  Glad they took!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PLAN:

1. Baggies, newspaper, paper towels (keep moistened, do not let dry out).  AC is OK?  Local dirt and/or bagged store-bought soil.   Use rooting hormone here, at this time?

OR,

2.  Pots/planters - use local dirt and/or bagged soil.  Keep moist.  Before hand trim back sucker and try to keep in proportion of root.  Loosely add dirt/soil to pot.  

3.  Transplant to larger pot when new root growth occurs to discourage circling roots.     I just don't know how I'll know the roots are circling.  How will I know if roots are growing and multiplying?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once you get things settled in pots you can watch them and get a feel for how they are doing. New growth - good! Withering toys - hmmm. Shriveling leaves - shucks.

It would be at least a year before you would need to worry about suckers getting pot bound, maybe more.

The soil on site should be fine, it is clearly keeping the mother plant alive! The trick will be getting the suckers firmly set in new pots and watered in so that the soul of settled around the roots.

When you prune back your suckers he sure to leave some leaves on so it can photosynthesize.

Your plan(s) look good! I don't know the life span of rooting hormone, you might ask a greenhouse or Google.

You got this!

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would transport more than one in a large bucket. It would be easier I think. 

Re Roots: I understand they are suckers, the roots you bring will grow, when they grow they will be larger root balls, like a tighter wad of roots, or the roots in a root bound pot. There may be another term, that was just what my grandma called it. 

Re soil: I would try to get as much of the soil they are in, enough to fill the pots to get them started on the right umm root?

Make sure to get way more than you think you will need.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, SusanC said:

Once you get things settled in pots you can watch them and get a feel for how they are doing. New growth - good! Withering toys - hmmm. Shriveling leaves - shucks.

It would be at least a year before you would need to worry about suckers getting pot bound, maybe more.

The soil on site should be fine, it is clearly keeping the mother plant alive! The trick will be getting the suckers firmly set in new pots and watered in so that the soul of settled around the roots.

When you prune back your suckers he sure to leave some leaves on so it can photosynthesize.

Your plan(s) look good! I don't know the life span of rooting hormone, you might ask a greenhouse or Google.

You got this!

Thanks, Susan! I'm to keep this in full sun for 1-2 years?  How do I do that in the winter all the while keeping the plant inside?  Do I keep them inside?  You're saying about 1 year in the initial bucket?  After that do I transplant to a larger pot or plant outside?

ALSO, want to make sure I understand here.  I'm taking 6-12 inches of plant sucker with a generous amount of root.  I REMOVE all leaves but a few at the top?  Remove leaves starting from bottom of sucker near root to top and leaving only 4 leaves at TOP OF SUCKER? 

13 hours ago, SHP said:

I would transport more than one in a large bucket. It would be easier I think. 

Re Roots: I understand they are suckers, the roots you bring will grow, when they grow they will be larger root balls, like a tighter wad of roots, or the roots in a root bound pot. There may be another term, that was just what my grandma called it. 

Re soil: I would try to get as much of the soil they are in, enough to fill the pots to get them started on the right umm root?

Make sure to get way more than you think you will need.

Yes, indeed.  I've learned that lesson.   I will add 4 inches soil on bottom and make sure suckers are 6 inches apart for transporting.  I can replant each one into individual containers after we get home.  I'm just concerned I'll stress the sucker.  Hopefully not.  

11 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

There are quite a few videos on YouTube on how to propagate crape myrtles from new growth, i.e. pieces of suckers.  It's pretty instructive, and not as difficult as digging soil and roots.

Thanks.  Just checked a few out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, sheryl said:

 

Yes, indeed.  I've learned that lesson.   I will add 4 inches soil on bottom and make sure suckers are 6 inches apart for transporting.  I can replant each one into individual containers after we get home.  I'm just concerned I'll stress the sucker.  Hopefully not.  

 

My experience with crape myrtles is that they are ridiculously hard to kill.  I don't know about your planting zone and winter, but aside from that, they are super hardy plants. We dug out a large one and are still pulling out suckers growing up from root matter underground that we thought we had completely dug out. 

I hope that characteristic of the plants works for you! :-) 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

My experience with crape myrtles is that they are ridiculously hard to kill.  I don't know about your planting zone and winter, but aside from that, they are super hardy plants. We dug out a large one and are still pulling out suckers growing up from root matter underground that we thought we had completely dug out. 

I hope that characteristic of the plants works for you! 🙂

Thank you!  Hope so too!  🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, sheryl said:

Thanks, Susan! I'm to keep this in full sun for 1-2 years?  How do I do that in the winter all the while keeping the plant inside?  Do I keep them inside?  You're saying about 1 year in the initial bucket?  After that do I transplant to a larger pot or plant outside?

ALSO, want to make sure I understand here.  I'm taking 6-12 inches of plant sucker with a generous amount of root.  I REMOVE all leaves but a few at the top?  Remove leaves starting from bottom of sucker near root to top and leaving only 4 leaves at TOP OF SUCKER? 

I don't know about Crape Myrtle specifically, so Google or. would be better about specifics.

Generally speaking, when you dig out shorts, the plant is a bit traumatized, "ahh! What just happened? Mom?" And it needs some gentle sun and consistent moisture to get over the shock. Then it needs sun to get energy for repairs. But, you don't want it trying to support all of the plant it is accustomed to spring AND trying to repair injuries (from transplanting, or soil shifting away from the roots, etc), do prime off some of the OUTER leaves and stem. If you can, leave a cluster of leaves closer to the ground do it can make energy. Once you have it home and settled in a nice pot with some room to grow, i would keep it in sunlight, maybe a sunny window, and keep the soil damp, on average. Put it in a nice pot and after a week or two, introduce it to the outdoors. First in shade for a few hours, gradually out to where you want to plant it in the ground.

Maybe you will have a bunch of starts that you are trying to get to grow and you move the herd.

Some things might change depending on how similar the climate is where it is coming from and your climate. Truly, the best thing you can do is find a local greenhouse and ask someone there for advice, but get their name so you can go back in 4 weeks and ask a follow-up, and then in fall, and maybe in the spring ... My boldest gardening friends gets places to do housecalls, I'm not sure how she does that, but they come out and tell her what to do with different trees in her yard.

You are unlikely to need to transplant for at least a year (again, Crape Myrtle is not specifically familiar to me), but if the plant is growing vigorously and looking to heavy, that will be a clue. 😀

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, SusanC said:

I don't know about Crape Myrtle specifically, so Google or. would be better about specifics.

Generally speaking, when you dig out shorts, the plant is a bit traumatized, "ahh! What just happened? Mom?" And it needs some gentle sun and consistent moisture to get over the shock. Then it needs sun to get energy for repairs. But, you don't want it trying to support all of the plant it is accustomed to spring AND trying to repair injuries (from transplanting, or soil shifting away from the roots, etc), do prime off some of the OUTER leaves and stem. If you can, leave a cluster of leaves closer to the ground do it can make energy. Once you have it home and settled in a nice pot with some room to grow, i would keep it in sunlight, maybe a sunny window, and keep the soil damp, on average. Put it in a nice pot and after a week or two, introduce it to the outdoors. First in shade for a few hours, gradually out to where you want to plant it in the ground.

Maybe you will have a bunch of starts that you are trying to get to grow and you move the herd.

Some things might change depending on how similar the climate is where it is coming from and your climate. Truly, the best thing you can do is find a local greenhouse and ask someone there for advice, but get their name so you can go back in 4 weeks and ask a follow-up, and then in fall, and maybe in the spring ... My boldest gardening friends gets places to do housecalls, I'm not sure how she does that, but they come out and tell her what to do with different trees in her yard.

You are unlikely to need to transplant for at least a year (again, Crape Myrtle is not specifically familiar to me), but if the plant is growing vigorously and looking to heavy, that will be a clue. 😀

OK, Susan, I'm all set, I think.  I'm trying to decode the above LOL.  Did you use voice text?  What are outer leaves?  The way I'm reading the above is to leave some leaves down on sucker near root and at the top?  Do I water the plant or soil?  These little suckers are relocating from southern Ohio to Charlotte, NC.  

**  Susan, so gentle sun would be morning sun?   Once the suckers are home, repot into their individual planters and place in sunny window?  My full sun is south and west in the afternoon.  That's pretty much it.  Now I'm worried it will be too strong for these little guys.   Do this for a couple of weeks and take outside - first shade then slowly introduce more sun to finally find it's full sun location.  ?????  Do I have this right?   Yes, I will check with local people here.  I called the county co-op twice and have not heard back.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, sheryl said:

LOL.  Did you use voice text?  What are outer leaves? 

😄 If you think of the outline of whatever you dig up as if it were a balloon standing up from the root ball, you want to trim the sucker down as though you have let some air out of the balloon. So probably trim the top branch, and maybe the side branches if there are any. However, don't trim away all of the leaves.

Yes, water the soil (not the branchy parts of the plants) thoroughly. This helps snug the soil up to the roots and eliminates air pockets which the roots can't use.

Your plan for sun exposure sounds reasonable. You'll have to give it a try and see how they react. If you have a bunch you may be able to see differences between ones at the front of the window, back of the crowd, on the porch, etc.

I don't think transplanting into their own pits had to happen "immediately", but soon would be good. A bucket won't have drain holes in the bottom to let extra water drain out and that can be hard on plants (after a day or three).

🌱🌿🌳

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...