The Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a popular ornamental shrub or small tree known for its prolific summer blooms. This plant often produces abundant volunteers, which are young plants grown directly from dropped seeds. Identifying these young plants, especially in their earliest stages, is necessary for gardeners who want to cultivate them or manage their spread. Recognizing the distinctive features of a true seedling, as opposed to other types of new growth, is the first step in successful management.
Initial Appearance: Cotyledons and First True Leaves
The very first structures a Crepe Myrtle seedling displays are its cotyledons, or seed leaves, which emerge shortly after germination. These two initial leaves provide the seedling with stored energy until it can begin photosynthesis. Cotyledons are typically small, oval, or kidney-bean shaped, and they appear opposite each other at the lowest point on the stem.
The cotyledons quickly give way to the first set of true leaves, which display the characteristic features of the mature Crepe Myrtle leaf on a smaller scale. These true leaves are usually oval to elliptical with a smooth edge and are arranged opposite or sub-opposite one another on the stem. A distinguishing feature of the new growth, including the stem, is a noticeable reddish or bronze tint before they turn a darker green. At this stage, the young plant is very small, often standing only one to three inches tall, but the true leaves confirm its identity.
Distinguishing Seedlings from Root Suckers
A common point of confusion is differentiating a true seedling, which grows from a seed, from a root sucker. Root suckers are vegetative shoots that emerge directly from the root system or the base of the parent plant’s trunk. Suckers bypass the cotyledon stage entirely because they are clones of the adult plant.
A root sucker will immediately display miniature adult leaves and will emerge very close to the established trunk or along a shallow root. Seedlings, conversely, appear from the soil surface and can be found many feet away from the parent tree, having sprouted from a dispersed seed. Root suckers are often the result of stress, such as pruning, and must be severed below the soil line to prevent regrowth. True seedlings, however, can be easily pulled or dug up for removal or transplanting.
Identification Features of Juvenile Plants
Once the Crepe Myrtle has grown past the delicate seedling stage, reaching six inches to a couple of feet in height, it enters the juvenile phase, exhibiting more recognizable features. The young stems are slender and often have a slightly squarish cross-section, with the reddish or bronze color remaining prominent on the newest growth. The leaves continue to be simple and oval, but the arrangement can vary, transitioning from opposite to sub-opposite, or even appearing in whorls of three higher up the stem.
The bark begins its transition from a smooth, green-brown color to the mottled texture known in mature trees. While the classic peeling, exfoliating bark will not be fully developed for several years, the young plant will have thin, twiggy, upright branches. This characteristic upright and multi-stemmed growth habit helps confirm the identity of a volunteer plant that has been growing for a season or two.