Heat-Tolerant Landscaping - Crape Myrtle Trees
Sunday March 7, 2004
Crape myrtle trees are a favorite in the South, because these heat-tolerant beauties bloom even in the midst of the intense summer heat, when little else will bloom. Further North (in zone 6, say), crape myrtle trees may die back to the ground in winter, then re-emerge in spring....
As a result, a plant that becomes a 30' tree in the South may remain a 4' shrub in the North. But you still get to enjoy its fantastic flower clusters! Read all about crape myrtle trees in this article (photo of crape myrtle trees comes courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden).
Comments
I gave my mother in Pittsburgh, PA area a crape myrtle tree 3 yrs. ago it has been growing but never blooms and it is about 4-5 ft tall. Can you tell me why it’s not blooming & the one I planted in VA has bloomed every year.
I live in Charlotte, N.C. and just noticed that my crepe myrtle leaves appear dead due to a late frost and below freezing temperatures recently. Did the tree die or will it come back? Thanks.
Where your crape myrtles are black and wilted, I’d do a little light
pruning for now. Hopefully, new growth will eventually appear. When (if)
it does, you’ll be better able to determine the extent of the damage, and
then you could go back and re-shape the tree to your liking.
iHAVE SEVERAL CREPE MYRTLE TREES AND THEY ARE NOT BLOOMING. THEY BLOOMED LAST YEAR, BEAUTHIFULLY.
WHAT CAN I DO. THEY ARE ABOUT 4FT.TALL AND I LIVE IN THE HEART OF DIXIE. THANKS
Could be many things, but the standard advice for getting plants to bloom better is to apply a fertilizer high in phosphorus.
We moved to a home where noone had attended to the yard/flowers/trees for years. We have never had crape myrtle trees before. we have 3 medium size. My question is they seemed to bloom earlier in the summer and now they are no longer blooming. We have sowed some grass and water a lot and wonder if they are getting to much water since they can survive even in long draughts. We live in south central Arkansas. Thanks for any help you can give us
Yes, it’s possible the change in environmental conditions has had an adverse impact on your crape myrtle trees — not only the extra watering, but also any fertilizer you’ve put on the grass. As long as your crape myrtle trees seem otherwise healthy, though, I’d just be patient and see how they do next year (once your grass is established, perhaps cut back on the watering/fertilizing a bit).
I live in Southern California. In summer the days can get as hot as
100 degrees and in winter the nights as cool as 40 degrees.
Will Crape myrtle Trees survive this kind of climate? and if so
How tall will they get. Is there a particular variety that would
be better suited for So Cal climate?
Thanks, I’d appreciate the help. Shirley
I have a crape myrtle tree. I do not know if this is a problem or not. Mine is sort of a tree and bush out at the top, so the tree is bare about 4ft from the top. My question is, it has white spots all on the tree. I can scape them off with my finger. Also when do you water and what fertilizer do you use and when for this?
Joyce
Joyce,
See this site regarding the white spots. “When to water” is too broad a question, as it will depend on factors I wouldn’t be aware of (such as how much rain you’re having where you are); but definitely water once per week during dry periods. Any complete general purpose fertilizer should be fine.
When do Crape Myrtle Trees start to sprout in the spring, I live in SE Kentucky and have never had these trees before, I planted several late last summer and they have not started budding yet.
Thank you for your help.
Chris,
Someone from your region may chime in to give you an answer as to when your crape myrtle trees will start budding. “When will X bud?” is one of those questions that really needs to be answered locally and, if no one here chimes in, your best bet would be to contact your local cooperative extension office.