Question
I have a 6 yr old crepe myrtle that has two young plants coming up beside it that are a year old. How do I locate the runner to these plants & how can I transplant them to another location? I also have another one growing right in the middle of a rose bush that I guess was deposited there by a bird? How can I remove that and not destroy the roots of the rose bush? Thanks very much for your time. Never knew crepe myrtles could have this issue.

Answer
Hi Michelle,
Thanx for your question.  You have two crape myrtle seedlings growing near the mother tree.  They could be seedlings or they could be sucker which are new plants that grow attached to the mother plant.  Dig carefully down the side of the sucker/seedling and eventually you'll either find the runner which you will just cut after ensuring you have enough root material, in order to separate the plant.  If your sucker has a lot of roots or a number of substantially long roots, it's safe to cut.  Most suckers will continue to grow with minimal roots.  If it is a seedling, you'll be able to judge the root ball and dig that out.  Transplant these into a whole that is deep enough and wide enough to comfortably accommodate the plant without crowding or choking its roots.  Sidedress with well-composted manure.  Water once a week if no regular rain.  If you've got a plant growing in the middle of a rose bush  I would just cut it off and sacrifice it, otherwise, you're going to have to dig up the rose bush and separate the seedling out of the rose roots and replant the rose.  The rose will survive but why put it through all that trauma?  Is the seedling that important?  I say cut it off and sacrifice it.  There'll be other seedlings.  Sometimes you can just dig a little into the midst of the rose bush and pull the seedling out and get enough root material that the seedling will survive.  You could try that first.  I hope this helps.
Tom