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| I live in NYC and have this CM in my back yard going on 21 years, and each summer during the latter part of July it blooms profusely. It is almost 20 feet tall. Some call CP a tree, I always said they are Shrubs. Anyhow, during this period i never water it, let nature takes its course even in a dry spell, and never fertilized it...didn't seem to deter blooms in all these years. But i feel i should at least once and don't know what type i should use and how to do it at its base. BTW, i read these shrubs pop up anywhere in Korea, where they are known coming from, and are referred to as "weeds', not unlike our Forsythias they seem to pop up mostly around highway lanes. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| It seems very illogical to think that your crape myrtle needs fertilizing when it's doing fine and has been doing fine without fertilizer for many years. Why would you want to do this??? Improper fertilization is a major source of failure and a variety of problems with woody plants. People want to "love" their plants to death, and sometimes do. Fertilization should only be used to correct an established nutrient deficiency in your soil. If your crape myrtle is doing just fine, there probably is no deficiency. If you have some reason to believe there is a deficiency, have a soil test conducted to determine what nutrients need to be added. |
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- Posted by butterfly4u 8 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 5, 11 at 1:12
| Boothbay, Brandon is so eloquent. If it aien't broken, don't fix it. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 5, 11 at 9:01
| this shrub.. which has grown into tree size .... has thrived in your world with little or no assistance from you ... congrats ... so why now.. are you trying to turn it into a child who needs to be fed ... IGNORE IT ... as you have been doing.. thats how you deal with trees and shrubs ... and BTW.. at 20 years.. it is no longer a child .... it is grandpa ... lol .. only reinforcing the facts that it needs no TLC ... just give it some extra water if a drought comes along... dont try to kill it with too much love ... ken |
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| Crapes can be terms trees OR shrubs, depending upon the size and form. The best thing you can do for your tree is to add a generous layer of mulch over a large portion of where you 'guess' the roots are. The roots can extend far beyond the reach of the canopy, so think big. Since you don't water this plant, I'd absolutely not fertilize it. I expect that you will see some nice results just from the benefits your tree will receive from the mulch. |
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