The Garden Post

By Kim Bius

Crape Myrtles – the Queen of Summer Bloomers

No plant says Texas summer like a crape myrtle in full bloom. These Texas hardy deciduous shrubs cannot be beat for overall return on a landscape investment--beautiful blooms in the summer, colorful fall foliage, and showy white bark in winter. Crape myrtles are often referred to as trees, but are actually shrubs available in a large range of sizes, from miniatures under 3’ to small trees under 25’.

Crape myrtles have simple requirements: sunny location, good air flow, well-drained soil, and water as needed. Powdery mildew often becomes a problem when plants have little chance of air movement in the corner of a building. Crapes love high heat, humidity, tolerate severe drought, and will grow in any Ph level and any soil. Crapes bloom on new growth wood and have the best show of blooms when the plant is pruned in mid-February. Crapes can be left to grow naturally in a large shrub form, but will not attain the bloom “show” or manicured look unless pruned. While large knots of scar tissue should be removed every 5th year and are not attractive, you have to keep in mind, this is merely a pruning technique. Crape myrtles come in a wide range of colors: white, pinks, reds and purples. No yellow or orange to date for blooms, although the fall colors are stunning, with foliage in hues of red, purple, bronze and gold, depending on the variety. This info should give you a basis to decide which crape myrtle variety best fits your needs. Dixie Series of Miniature Weeping Crapes –height 2-5’ max, fair disease resistance, little fall color. Includes varieties Baton Rouge(red), Bourbon Street (watermelon red), New Orleans (purple), Delta Blush (light pink) Petite Series – available in pink, lavender, plum, red and white. Some fall color and max height at 8’ Standard Series Varieties – max height of 12’ –18’+. The older varieties fall into this category.

The top 8 best-selling crape myrtles: Zuni – max height of 12’, very rounded growth, lavender, excellent disease resistance, beautiful orange/red fall color. Pink Velour – brilliant, rich fuchsia pink, 10’12’, fair resistance, deep orange fall color. Catawba – royal purple, 12’-15’, hard to find variety, good disease resistance, red/orange fall color.

Bashams Pink – the tallest at 25’-40’, good disease resistance with orange red color in fall.

Dallas Red – watermelon red, 20’ +, great disease resistance, good fall color. Dynamite – true red, 25’+, good disease resistance, good fall color. Miami – dark pink, 20’ +, good disease resistance, bright orange fall leaves. Natchez – to 30’, excellent disease resistance, white, beautiful red/orange fall foliage. Of course, the preceding is just a sampling of the many varieties of crape myrtles on the market, but they are hardier and more disease tolerant than some of their brethren. New varieties enter the market annually and should not be discounted because they do not have a track record. Ensure you allow room for the variety of your choice to grow, and do not try to keep a 20’ variety trimmed to 8’…you will not be a happy gardener. Happy Gardening.

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