Question
QUESTION: We live in Kansas City, zone 5, and last fall planted a new variety of crepe myrtle that the garden center said is approved for this zone.  Sorry, we can't remember the name of the variety. It is now May 21 and there are no leaves, just a few suckers springing up from the base.  We wonder if the plant is dead and did not survive the winter.  Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi J Des,
Thanx for your question.  I'm in KC also.  Most of the crape myrtle grown in Kansas City grow as a shrub and come from new growth in the late spring.  The shrub will usually die back to the ground like a butterfly bush or hardy hibiscus and then emerge in late May.  Very seldom does the old wood remain viable through our cold winters.  Give your shrub another week to 10 days and you should see some serious growth from the ground.  Just a few hundred miles south in Memphis, the crape mytles are small trees!  It is amazing how much different a few hundred miles can make in the way a plant grows.  At least we are fortunate enough to be temperate enough that the plant grows as a shrub for us.  If you have suckers coming up, the plant is still alive.  They're just slow to re-emerge.  I hope this helps.
Tom

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QUESTION: Tom - Very interesting and hopeful news!  Another question:  If/when new leaves appear in another week or so, should we prune out all of the dead branches and live suckers at that time?  Or should this be done now?  Finally, is all pruning done in the spring, and should we just leave the old stalks alone in the fall and over the winter?

Tom -- I read your profile and saw that you are in our area.  Thanks again for your expert advice.

Answer
Hi J Des,
Thanx for your question.  You may trim out the dead branches once the new growth begins emerging.  Bear in mind that in many cases, most of the branches will not have survived the winter and the shrub dies back to the ground.  So, in that event, the suckers are going to be the new shrub so you might not want to cut those back.  There are a few shrubs in my neighborhod near downtown and they are very slow to emerge but once the summer hits, they grow rapidly and are often almost 6 feet tall and 5 feet in girth.  Like I said, usually, the whole shrub dies to the ground in the winter.  If you notice the old twigs and branches leafing out this year, then, I wouldn't prune them again until the fall.  If they don't leaft out, go ahead and tidy them up in the fall. This means the shrub does in fact die back to the ground with winter.  There are some new cultivars of crape myrtle that are hardier for our area.  I haven't tried any so I don't know for sure if they die back to the ground too or if they will leaf back out in the late spring.  I hope this helps.  Have a great holiday!
Tom