How to dig up a large Crepe Myrtle

[Anonymous]

I need to remove a 12 foot Crepe Myrtle; it’s healthy so I prefer to dig it up and keep it intact. But my shovel and I seem to disagree over the strength required to dig up the roots. Shall I just take an ax to the trunk?

[Anonymous]

you got a big job ahead of you....

crape myrtles are very durable trees and take to transplanting very well.

the bigger the root ball, the better the survivability. you need to be thinking roots can be 12-20" deep

however you need to be thinking about the weight. a 12' multi stem crepe myrtle is going to tip the scales north of 500 lbs

so once you get the roots cut all the way around, what is your plan for getting the tree out of the hole?

Are you going to transplant the tree elsewhere in your yard?

[Anonymous]

As the previous poster said, it might be a losing battle trying to move the tree unless you have access to heavy equipment (like a bobcat/skidloader). Assuming you can dig up the rootball and free it by hand (which is an insane amount of work), moving it by hand may be VERY challenging.

I've dug up a tree before and I won't try it again. The clay soil we have around here will be SUPER heavy around the rootball.

For the time/money, you're probably best off just cutting it down and buying a new tree to plant. At least that's what I'd do.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback, PPs. (OP here.)

It's a small 12', but who knows what the root ball looks like.
I'm experienced gardener, but this plant has just been on my list since I bought my house. It's not the variety that can be pruned and bloom out in a nice shape; instead, this variety sends up volunteers all over this garden bed, including alongside the trunk.
All to say... if I hack it down with an axe, I don't know if that will even end the relentless volunteers.

You've both given me something to think about, though. Guess my big plans for digging it up myself may not work.

[Anonymous]

Regarding volunteers/suckers.. if you cut them back and don't let them hang around too long (to generate nutrients for the tree via photosynthesis), they'll eventually stop and the tree and root system will die. It may take a whole season of fighting it (the root system has a lot of stored up reserves), but it'll eventually die.

An application of roundup and maybe triclopyr on new volunteers might not hurt either.

[Anonymous]

We removed them for a major construction project, and some of the employees wanted to take them, once they got the price to remove and transport them - crickets.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Darn spellcheck. I know it’s CRAPE :-/

[Anonymous]

crepe or crape both are good for the common name.

[Anonymous]

Cut it down and use a stump killer. You can find it online. Just drill a few holes in the stump, pour the stump killer in and you should be done.

The weight of a 12’ tree with proper rootball will be minimum 1500 pounds most likely a lot more.

[Anonymous]

If you don't mind waiting for it to grow back - just cut it short, it will survive. Do you really want to move 12 ft tree?

[Anonymous]

They grow fast and they’re easy and common. If this one isn’t in the right spot, maybe there’s someone with a chain and a truck in your neighborhood who will pull the stump out for you.

[Anonymous]

Can you rent a backhoe?

[Anonymous]

some nursery or tree services will have a tree extractor vehicle that uses four big shovel blades to scoop trees right out of the ground with an intact root ball. They move it to the new spot, and fill the hole with the plug they removed from the other site.

Probably run about $1,009 but it’s virtually guaranteed the tree will survive.