I have 2 - 5 year old crape myrtles that were planted close to the house by the contractor. my husband wants to cut them down because they both are overhanging onto the roof and causing discoloration to the shingles and one of them overhangs the driveway and the dead blooms that fall are discoloring the driveway and ruining the paint on our cars. I don't want to cut them down but agree they are in the wrong spot. Can I transplant them and if so when is the best time and how big of a root ball do I need to keep to give its best shot at survival. I live in Louisiana and it is very hot here right now. do I have to wait until Fall or Winter to try to transplant?

Answer #2 · Sandra Hebert's Answer · Thank you for your response. In regards to "canes" are you referring to the number trunks? mine is a single trunk crape myrtle. would the 2" diameter theory?)

Answer #1 · Matt Heidke's Answer · For starters, I would wait until fall dormancy to reduce the shock of transplanting. The size of the root ball will depend on the size of the tree. For every inch of diameter per cane you would need at least 11" of root ball. So for example, if you have 5 canes and each one is 2" in diameter, you would need a 110" root ball. At 5 years old, I would say that it will take a professional tree moving company with heavy equipment to be able to dig the root ball and even heavier equipment to lift it once it is dug out.

Maybe it would be better to plant some new ones, here are some options for you:
https://www.togogarden.com/search/?q=crape+myrtle)