A serindipitous group

These three little Crape Myrtle were growing out in the yard when we bought this place. Two of the three plants had been chopped (or eaten). I dug them early on and plopped them in a spare nursery pot and forgot about them for 4 years. I rediscovered them this last spring while rummaging around in a bunch of miscellaneous plants (we all have those, yes?) and lifted them as a group, chopped a bunch of roots and plopped them into this shallow pot.

Because I couldn't do much with all my trees over much of this last summer they became lost again, only to be found a few weeks ago. A few snips, a wire or two, and they appear to me to be on their way to making a nice little (the pot is 9 inches wide) three-tree group.

Leaf color isn't so hot -- probably because of a lack of feeding over the summer and because these are an older variety/cultivar of Crape Myrtle and quite susceptible to powdery mildew -- but, with luck, I can pay more attention to them next year.

The first picture is the probable front, though pic 2 isn't that bad as a front.

It looks really nice and I prefer the first picture. But would it be better in a deeper pot?

I'll be trying to reduce the mound under the trees. I didn't want to do TOO much rootwork when I planted them as a group. Once the roots are thoroughly intertwined, I should be able to reduce it quite a bit.

Nice finding revealed!
Thank you for a new word added to my knowledge (...serendipitous/serendipity)

It's a great word isn't it?

I don't think a deeper pot would look good at all and certainly not after any rootwork is done. It gves the impression of a group of trees on a hillside and IMHO a deeper pot would both spoil that image and make it look bulky and clumsy instead of in proportion as it does currently.

I think it looks great in the current shallow pot. My comment/question did not relate to appearance but instead to whether some soil would wash downward. If there is no concern of that happening, I prefer the shallow pot. It's a great grouping!

The 2nd picture is my favorite front too, especially if the nebari on the right becomes more prominent and some can be developed on the left. I like the shalow pot and the idea of a "hill" as well.

Regards

Thanks all of you. The problem with the second front (picture) -- one of them -- in my eyes, is that it is difficult to separate the 3 trees, even in 3-D, real life. Another is that sweeping curve, then straightness, of one of the trees is much too prominent when that tree is in the front.

Glad to add to the word list Nellie <g>. The problem with this word is that too many use it too freely. Serindipity doesn't happen that often.