Crape Myrtle – Our Longest Blooming Plant

The Crape Myrtle may hold the distinction of the landscape plant that took the biggest beating over the last 9 months and yet most survived.  Between the early ice storm last October and the extreme cold of February, the environment was difficult for Crape Myrtles.  Some weaker plants didn’t make it leaving us with holes in the landscape.  The low temperatures of February killed some of our older, majestic Crapes back to their roots leaving us with more shrub-shaped plants than trees this year.  But, even though the Crape Myrtle landscape looks different this year, it is summer, and Crapes are once again adding color to our landscapes. 

Crape Myrtles are our longest blooming plant.  While most blooming trees and shrubs put on a show for only a few days or a few weeks, the Crape Myrtle starts adding color to the landscape as soon as summer heat arrives in late-June to early-July and doesn’t stop until the first frost.

If your landscape has a void because of winter damage, consider adding a Crape Myrtle.  With over 50 varieties of Crape Myrtles and new ones introduced every year there must be one perfect for your landscape. 

Last summer this large Crape Myrtle was focal point of the landscape of this 90 year old house.

Unfortunately, the Crape Myrtle didn’t survive the winter freeze. But, all is not lost. The deadwood has been removed. New growth will be allowed to grow in a shrub form this season. Next spring,  5-7 of the best stems will be selected and all the rest will be removed.  Corrective pruning will happen every spring until the tree-sized shape of the old Crape Myrtle is regained.

Even this old Tuscarora Crape Myrtle had to be cut to the ground this spring, it still couldn’t be stopped from bursting with color this week.

Crape Myrtles are great pollinators.  Interesting…university studies have found different types of bees prefer different varieties of Crape Myrtles. Plant height and color appear to be the most common deciding factor.

Crape Myrtle Sizes

Crape Myrtles are a great way to colorfully screen an unwanted view by planting them in a row.

• Standard Crape Myrtles - When allowed to grow as a small tree will reach up to 25’ in our region and require little maintenance.  Simply remove any dead wood from the tips of the branches in the spring and let the plant go for the season.  They can be grown as a single trunk or a multi-trunked tree.

• Semi-dwarf Crape Myrtles - Typically grow 8-12’ tall and make an excellent colorful screen when grown in a row.

• Dwarf Crape Myrtles - Grow only 2-4’ tall, are small and mounding, and ideal for a landscape bed where you want a splash of summer color.    

Selecting the right size plant is important.  Crape Myrtles are at their best when they can grow to their natural shape and size.  Constant pruning on the wrong size plant to keep it in a space it was not meant to fit will reduce the summer blooms.

Crape Myrtle Colors – The color pallet ranges from white, pink, purple, and red.  Bloom color is not the only attribute of Crape Myrtle.  Their foliage ranges from dark green, wine-colored, velvet and dark purple. The combination of the bloom and foliage colors is one of the things that attracts me to the plant.

I am most fond of the large, full-sized, tree-formed Crape Myrtles.  It is hard to narrow my list of favorite Crape Myrtles, and my list often changes, but these are just a few of my current favorites:

Pink Velour – Large 12-15’ small tree form with dark wine foliage and bright pink flowers.  The foliage and flower combination are very striking.

Pink Velour Crape Myrtle foliage emerges dark purple and fades to a rich green and then produces vibrant pink blooms through the summer.

Dynamite – Also a small tree that grows up to 15’. Dynamite was one of the first red tree form varieties.  New foliage is nearly crimson in color and changes to a rich green as it matures.  Flowers are brilliant red.

It’s hard to find a more vibrant red Crape Myrtle than the Dynamite Red.

Natchez – One of the largest tree form crape myrtles reaching 25’.  Foliage is rich green, and flowers are white. The cinnamon brown bark puts on a show of its own as it exfoliates.

Natchez Crape Myrtle, known for their white blossoms, also is known for adding interest to the landscape with its unique exfoliating bark.

Ebony Flame – A great accent plant that grows 10-12’ with dark red blooms on intense black foliage.

One of the nation’s leading innovators of Crape Myrtles is Oklahoma’s own, Dr. Carl Whitcomb.  Dr. Whitcomb holds 32 patents and has authored five books including Know It and Grow It, a book every landscape enthusiast should own.   You can see all of Dr. Whitcomb’s crape myrtles by following this link: http://drcarlwhitcomb.com/Patented_Plants.html

Crape Myrtle Bark – One of the most overlooked aspects of the plant is the bark.  The bark is smooth and ranges in color from pink to gray.  As the plant matures, the thin bark exfoliates to expose a different color underneath.  Too often, tree form Crape Myrtles are severely pruned every spring and we never get to enjoy the beautiful bark of the mature plant. 

Crape Myrtle Fall Color – Another overlooked characteristic of the plant is the fall color.  Varieties range from yellow to red.  Much of our fall color is found in larger trees.  Crape Myrtles add fall color to the landscape below the color of the large trees.

I would challenge anyone to find another plant that offers so many features to the landscape.  From the long bloom, the variety of colors, the many shapes and sizes, and the addition of exfoliating bark and good fall color, you can’t deny the Crape Myrtle a place in your landscape.

Lorne Hall

Hall Stewart Lawn + Landscape

(405)367-3873

Crape Myrtle - Summer's Biggest Show!

This week marked the longest day of the year, the first day of summer, and the start of Crape Myrtle season. 

Most blooming trees and shrubs last for only a few days or a couple of weeks.  But the crape myrtle holds the distinction of being our longest blooming shrub or tree.  Typically, the crape myrtle starts adding color to the landscape in mid-June and doesn’t stop until the first frost.  This year, due to the cooler than normal start to the summer, the crape myrtle hasn’t started to put on their summer show yet but will in the next couple of weeks.   

This past week, I was fortunate to spend a few days in Charleston, South Carolina, the first place the French planted crape myrtles in the United States.  One of our favorite activities of the week was a morning walk through Charleston’s crape myrtle lined streets. 

There are over 50 varieties of crape myrtles and new ones are introduced every year.  They are found throughout the southern US and perform well anywhere south of USDA zone 6. 

Crape myrtle Sizes

Standard Crape Myrtles - When allowed to grow as a small tree will reach up to 25’ in our region and require little maintenance. Simply remove any dead wood from the tips of the branches in the spring and let the plant go for the season. They can be grown as a single trunk or a multitrunked tree.

Semi-dwarf Crape Myrtles - Typically grow 8-12’ tall and make an excellent colorful screen when grown in a row.

Dwarf Crape Myrtles - Grow only 2-4’ tall, are small and mounding, and ideal for a landscape bed where you want a splash of summer color.

Selecting the right sized plant is important. Crape myrtles are at their best when they can grow to their natural shape and size. Constant pruning on the wrong size plant to keep it in a space it was not meant to fit will reduce the summer blooms.

Crape Myrtle Colors – The color pallet ranges from white, pink, purple and red.  Bloom color is not the only attribute of a crape myrtle.  Their foliage ranges from dark green, wine colored, velvet and dark purple. The combination of the bloom and foliage colors is one of the things that attracts me to the plant.

I am most fond of the large, full sized, tree formed crapemyrtles.  It is hard to narrow my list of favorite crapemyrtles, and my list often changes, but these are just a few of my current favorites:

Pink Velour – Large 12-15’ small tree form with dark wine foliage and bright pink flowers. The foliage and flower combination are very striking.

Dynamite – Also a small tree that grows up to 15’. Dynamite was one of the first red tree form varieties. New foliage is nearly crimson in color and changes to a rich green as it matures. Flowers are brilliant red.

Natchez – One of the largest tree form crape myrtles reaching 25’. Foliage is rich green, and flowers are white. The cinnamon brown bark puts on a show of its own as it exfoliates.

Ebony Flame – A great accent plant that grows 10-12’ with dark red blooms on intense black foliage.

One of the nation’s leading innovators of crape myrtles is Oklahoma’s own, Dr. Carl Whitcomb. Dr. Whitcomb holds 32 patents and has authored five books including Know It and Grow It, a book every landscape enthusiast should own. You can see all of Dr. Whitcomb’s crape myrtles by following this link: http://drcarlwhitcomb.com/Patented_Plants.html

Crape Myrtle Bark – One of the most overlooked aspects of the plant is the bark. The bark is smooth and ranges in color from pink to gray. As the plant matures, the thin bark exfoliates to expose a different color underneath. Too often, tree form crape myrtles are severely pruned every spring and we never get to enjoy the beautiful bark of the mature plant.

Crape Myrtle Fall Color – Another overlooked characteristic of the plant is the fall color. Varieties range from yellow to red. Much of our fall color is found in larger trees. Crape myrtles add fall color to the landscape below the color of the large trees.

I would challenge anyone to find another plant that offers so many features to the landscape.  From the long bloom, the variety of colors, the many shapes and sizes, and the addition of exfoliating bark and good fall color, you can’t deny the crape myrtle a place in your landscape.

Lorne Hall

Hall Stewart Lawn + Landscape

Don’t let your Crape Myrtles fall victim to Crape Murder

Crape myrtles are a must have plant for nearly every landscape.  They are one of the longest blooming plants in our region, have attractive branching and bark, and provide great fall color. 

Crape Myrtles require some pruning every spring, but way too often Crape Myrtles are trimmed incorrectly, too severely, in late winter to early spring. 

Why do so many cut crapes back to 4-5’ every year?

Three Reasons for Bad Crape Myrtle Pruning

1. It is simply what everyone does to their Crape Myrtles in the spring. Have you ever wondered if it is the best practice?  It pains me to see so many beautiful Crapes cut back to ugly stubs every spring.  This practice ruins the natural form of the plant.  Southern Living termed the practice as “Crape Murder” decades ago, but yet it continues as the common practice.

2. The wrong variety was selected for the location and pruning is needed to control the size. Varieties include large tree types that grow 20’ or larger, medium varieties 12-18’, 6-12’ small varieties, and dwarf varieties.  When you select the right size for your planting area and are not forced to prune heavily to contain the plant, you will find you will have a healthier plant resulting in less disease and more blooms. 

3. They believe the myth that crape myrtles bloom more if they are severely pruned every year.  Flowers are produced on new growth every year even if they are not pruned. Actually, without heavy pruning you will have more branch area resulting in more summer blooms.

Crape Murder destroys the natural beauty of the plant. Mature crape myrtles have wonderful smooth and molten bark with graceful shapes. You will never experience this quality if you murder them every spring.

This Crape Myrtle fell victim to Crape Murder.

Best Pruning Tips

1. Know what your goal is before you start.  You can always prune more, but once you have pruned, you can never prune less. 

2. Remove last summer’s seed pods from the ends of the branches with hand pruners.

3. Remove all the smaller branches growing toward the center of the plant.  This will allow more air and light to reach the center of the plant which will increase blooms and reduce disease.

Great pruning… this Crape Myrtle didn’t fall victim to Crape Murder.

4. Make cuts back at the main branch and don’t leave stubs.

5. Remove any unwanted branches from the base of large shrub or tree from varieties.  Typically 5-7 trunks, free of any branches for the first quarter or third of the plant results in an attractive landscape plant.

First leaf buds on a pruned Crape Myrtle in late March.

Crape Myrtle Insect and Disease Issues

Scale – The last two years many Crape Myrtles in central Oklahoma developed bark scale.  This problem is relatively new to our area, but has been a nuisance in Texas for a few years.  The insect is invasive and results in a black mold along the branches and trunk.  Although the scale is rarely fatal to the plant, they are responsible for stunted growth, reduced flowering and loss in aesthetics.  Best control is achieved with a dormant oil in the spring followed by contact insecticide applications in late spring and early summer when pest populations increase.

Powdery Mildew – Best identified as a power-like dusting that develops in late spring and early summer on new leaves. It will result in reduced blooming and misshaped leaves when untreated. Warm days, cool nights, low wind circulation, and excessive moisture on the leaves are the culprits. Best practice is to plant Crape Myrtles in areas where they will receive plenty of light and air movement. If you notice powdery mildew, fungicide applications will be required to control the spread of the disease.

Aphids – Traditionally, they have been the major pest for Crape Myrtles. A few aphids are not a problem and do not require treatment. But, if populations increase they can cause damage. Application of a dormant oil in the late winter or spring is the best preventive step to control aphids and is recommended. If aphid populations become a problem during the season, repeated applications of an insecticide will be required to gain control.

Please let us know if we can help you with any Crape Myrtle issues — from plant selection, proper pruning, and care.

To insure you have a summer full of wonderful crape myrtle color, call (405)367-3873 to schedule a dormant oil application this week!

Lorne Hall