In January we bought a savannah holly, little gem magnolia and 2 crepe myrtles. None have done well. I live in a new development in North Houston. We noticed a lot of clay when we dug up grass for my herb garden but other than that I don't know much about the soil. My savannah holly lost most of it's leaves within the first 3 months. Much of the tree limbs dried out. The berries (the few that remain) are green. There is new growth at the bottom of the tree and very little on the remaining live limbs. I couldn't stand looking at how pathetic the tree lookes so I broke off all of the dead limbs today. I hope I didn't hurt it! A landscaper told me that the tree was planted too low so he lifted it for me in March. We have fertilized the tree it is in partial shade in the morning but gets sun most of the day. It is covered with mulch and it gets plenty of water??? What am I doing wrong? My 15 gallon Little Gem Magnolia lost 3/4 of it's leaves BUT it bloomed beautifully (I got a minimum of 30 blooms). I hope that the leaf loss was due to transplant shock! The Magnolia is in full sun all day. Last but not least..my crepe myrtles started blooming late and they have stopped blooming. Some of the leaves are turning red? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. North Houston weather is hot and humid, very rarely do we worry about a freeze in winter! Thank you all in advance for your much needed advice.
I don't know whether these plants are prone to doing well in your climate at all, and they may just be having their settling-in year, but I'm pretty sure that they all want good drainage. If you have clay, amending the soil and maybe planting in raised beds might be a good idea. I would only replant after the hottest part of the year, of course.
the crape myrtles and little gem should be appropriate for your climate. we have had severe drought in arkansas and some of our established crapes are already starting to turn red for fall. i would wait to see how they leaf out next year before pulling them up yet.
