Crepe myrtles for hugelkultur?

Howdy!

Looking into sourcing my hugelkultur logs/branches/twigs, and there happens to be an abundance of crepe myrtles in my city (people plant them as pretty, junk trees, essentially, then don't take care of them). There are currently tons of dead crepe myrtle branches/offshoots that have fallen around the bases of crepe myrtles near me, and I'm wondering: Would there be any harm in using these as part of my hugelkultur?

The big logs would be oak, and whatever branches and twigs I can get that can be oak, too, I'll grab them, but for the smaller branches part....any thoughts on using crepe myrtle?

Thanks!

Especially if it's not going to be the only thing in there, I don't see a problem.

My basic rule for things I know to be allopathic, anti-fungal, or otherwise suspect is to put them at the very bottom of my pile and cover them with uncomposted cattle manure before overlayering with more wood, mineral soil, topsoil, compost, and mulch. In that way, the properties that in some cases result in wood not rotting results in the woody substructure of the hugelbeet lasting longer while the allopathic agents or anti-fungal components leach out and break down in the soil, essentially extending the life of your hugelbeet.

-CK

Lindsay, just a quick note. I used crap myrtle (what I call it) in a hugel before it was dead and dried, and I have had hundreds of shoots come up. Miserable! make sure it is dried out and cannot root before adding it. Literally has cost me many hours. Once it is dead has been great, I coppace it annually and leave it in a pile for months before using. I don't chip it at all, use it on top of the bigger logs in different directions, and it holds the sides of the hugel up well.

Great, thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to get thoroughly dried out ones--that sounds miserable!