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Crepe Myrtle- Help!

 
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My father had planned on selling crepe myrtles a few years back. Unfortunately, he found out later that year that he had arthritis and is currently unable to do much at all.
I have pondered the idea of taking over where he left off but there are some concerns. There are about 500-600 three year old Crepe Myrtles planted in a small area. They are all well over 7 feet. I'm not sure of the spacing but it is tight. Should I count them out as sellers and keep them as seed producers? If I can sell them, how would I market them?
 
pollinator
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Location: Quebec, Canada
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If you keep them to produce seed, then they will very quickly crowd each other out.  You'll eventually want to thin them out, maybe sooner than later.  So if you have a chance to sell them I would do so before they get too big and you are forced to cut them down.

You could start by advertising on some classified ads sites in your area. I have purchased plants this way, so others are looking there too.  
 
pollinator
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This reminds me so much of an anecdote in a garden book by Allen Lacey (it might have been The Garden in Autumn) in which he wrote about digging up a plant - I think some kind of holly but possibly even a crepe myrtle - from a weird old obscure nursery where the owner would just point to a thicket of where you were supposed to find your plant among a crowd of "liners" I think he called them.  Woody plants crowded just as you describe.  They were perfect for his purpose, being fan-shaped, which is just what he wanted to grow against a wall in a small courtyard garden.  So maybe you could market them as "Fan Myrtles" or something.  You could dig them up and pot them, or arrange to dig one up for someone if they come to pick them up, or let them dig their own.  I would not give up on them as saleable plants.  There's an old nursery we pass on our way into town that has a lot of lines of plants growing in just that same crowded way - it seems to have been the style for at least some kind of nurseries back in the day.
 
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The simple solution is to thin by selling every other tree, those can be sold easily and the remaining trees will fill out and thus bring more money.
 
Kenly Cifers
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Thanks for the reply, friends. We have had a lot of interest in them even without advertising. I'm planning on digging them up after Christmas, putting them in landscaping cloth containers, and replanting them. My thinking is this will make it easier to remove them when selling.
Unfortunately, there is no tags on them yet identifying color. So I think it will still be a little while before I can sell.
What are your thoughts on selling them next summer? What should I sell them for?
 
Bryant RedHawk
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Location: Arkansas - Zone 7B/8A stoney, sandy loam soil pH 6.5
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The current price for a 3 gal size crape myrtle (5-6 feet tall) covers a fairly broad range. I've seen them for sale as low as 20.00 and as high as 55.00 (U.S.)
Take into account the condition of the trunk(s) when deciding on your price.

I agree with you on wrapping the root ball making it easier to sell, I much prefer a wrapping over a plastic container for trees, they are easier to heel in for over wintering and they are easier to get loose for moving (usually).

Redhawk
 
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