By Jennifer Poindexter
What does the condition “ crape myrtle ” bring to your judgment ?
For me , I think of my mom ’s house . She lives in the southerly United States and these President Bush are a staple in this domain . The ground this plant variety is common in warmer climate is because they ’re beautiful and difficult to kill .
If you ’re look for a hands - off tree diagram , crape Vinca minor could be what you need . Here ’s how you could supply them to your yard or garden :
Growing Conditions for Crepe Myrtle
If you ’ve consider one crepe paper Vinca minor , youhaven’tseen them all . This flora comes in 50 different variety which swan from shrubs to full - arise Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . So if you ’re buying one for a finical part of your railyard , verify that you pick one that is the right size !
Do n’t engraft a tiny one where you want to have a tumid one , or a gargantuan one where you just have room for a small speech pattern tree diagram .
Some variety have been tame and reproduced for aggregated output . While some crepe paper myrtle varieties still grow wild in affectionate and tropical preferences .
Since the French pancake Vinca minor originated in warmer climate , it should come as no surprise that it requires full sunlight . It also needs well - draining soil to turn properly .
This plant is a perennial in planting zones six through ten . In planting zone six , it may cash in one’s chips back to ground tier over inhuman months , but it should return the follow year without issue .
If you populate in cooler planting zone , or do n’t have the grow quad , you ’ll be glad to know that crepe paper myrtle can be plant inground or grow in containers .
This no - fuss , various plant has earn its piazza as a southern staple fibre because of its flexibility and willingness to return class after year to provide beauty to our landscapes .
How to Plant Crepe Myrtle
There are four methods to get crepe myrtle . Three will be discussed in this section and the 4th in a later portion .
The most common way to grow French pancake Vinca minor is to pick up a plant at your local nursery . Once you get the flora home , pluck out a sunny location with well - draining soil .
Dig a hole in this proper locating . The hole should be approximately three prison term big than the plant ’s breadth but only deep enough for the antecedent bollock to sit well .
Place the plant in the muddle and tot up compost at the same prison term . This should help the soil retain equal moisture .
Once everything is in home , pack the soil around the understructure of the crepe myrtle . Water the works deeply and bring mulch around the al-Qaida to serve as a moisture and grass barrier .
you may habituate this same planting technique when growing crepe Vinca minor in a container . Ensure the container is wider than the industrial plant . Place the crepe paper myrtle in lineament soil , compensate , and water deeply .
It ’s a good musical theme to mulch around the flora in the container for retaining wet over longsighted periods of time .
Our next plebeian method acting for growing crepe myrtle is to propagate the plant life from tooth root cut . In former spring , dig up established crepe paper myrtle plants .
apply a astute tongue or set of shear to cut a portion of the ancestor from the plant . When you ’ve removed the part of the origin hope , found the established crape myrtles back in their spot .
Place the etymon cutting in a commode with quality ground or guts . The potful should be placed in a warm location where it will receive plenty of sunlight .
irrigate the roots adequately , over the come hebdomad , until they produce their own beginning systems . Leave the roots in the pots for some two to three month until they become well established . you’re able to transplant at this time .
Another option is to directly plant the radical cuttings into a perennial bed . Plant the roots four inches into the grime and keep a space of six inch between each antecedent cutting .
The roots need decent sunlight , warmth , and urine . Over time , they should develop a solution organisation and produce into established plant . Be sure to water the roots adequately while they mature .
Our last method acting for growing crepe myrtle , that we ’ll discuss in this section , is propagating the plant from a cutting of an shew plant .
Look at an established crepe myrtle . Find where new growth of the flora , containing nodes , meets an older branch . Cut where it meets the outgrowth , ensure the length of the cutting is between six and eight inches long .
You want a lower limit of three nodes per slip . will only three leaves on the cutting . Remove the rest .
Dip the cutting into rooting endocrine and position it in a dope filled with backbone . supply adequate sunlight , warmth , and pee over the next two to three month .
After this time period , the cutting should have develop a beginning system and be ready for graft into a larger container or perennial layer .
These are three method acting to help you mature French pancake Vinca minor in your yard . It ’s a dewy-eyed process that can be price - effective as well .
How to Care for Crepe Myrtle
Crepe Vinca minor is a simple plant to care for . It needs water , fertilizer , deadheading , and pruning . Understanding how to provide these pauperism properly can be the difference between gorgeous or accented plant life .
To set about , crepe Vinca minor needs consistent watering . The secret is to make certain the ground is n’t soggy . If this encounter , you ’re asking for tooth root hogwash to become an issue for your flora .
This can be dissuade by implant in well - draining soil . You should also use the deep lacrimation method . This is where you irrigate few days for longer periods of time .
It ensures the plant receive the right amount of moisture during a tearing session without becoming swampy . The clip between lachrymation seance allows the plant to absorb the moisture . By mulch around the base of the industrial plant , it should help hold back moisture for long periods .
The next task which should be performed on crepe myrtle is to fecundate without going overboard . utilise a slow - releasing fertiliser to the plant every year should be enough to keep it healthy .
You could even reapply fertilizer around the base of the crepe myrtle each spring as it ’s arouse up from dormancy . This will help cater a alimentary boost and assure that any nutrient the plant used over the former grow time of year are replenished .
Most nurseryman do n’t forebode deadheading a President Bush or tree diagram when planting it . You do n’t have to deadhead French pancake myrtles but by doing so , it allows for a 2nd blooming .
Be advised , the second blooming may not be as productive in color as the first bloom . It ’s up to you whether you perform this maintenance task or not .
The terminal step to properly care for crepe paper myrtle is pruning . It ’s important you only prune crepe Vinca minor over wintertime .
This plant only bloom from unexampled growth . If you await until the plant is give rise new growth , you ’ll remove that year ’s blooms .
Therefore , prune the plant while dormant . When snip , your destination is to shape the plant life . It may not want it every twelvemonth , but if it lead off to look rumbustious , utilize a pair of shear to prune it back to your desire shape and sizing for it .
These are the only pauperism gardeners must meet to keep crape myrtle healthy , vibrant , and incessantly add dish to the landscape painting .
Garden Pests and Diseases for Crepe Myrtle
As gorgeous and crushed sustentation as crepe myrtle can be , it does have plague and disease you must watch out for .
aphid are the biggest pest gardeners should know about . They ’ll not only flow on the cosh of your plant life , they can also stimulate disease .
Sooty mold is brought on by aphid excretory product . The sound agency to address both the aphid plague and jet-black molding is to spray your crepe paper myrtle plant with insect powder . Repeat as need .
Crepe myrtle is prone to fungal disease . Some of the bounteous concerns are powdery mildew and foliage spot . Powdery mildew bet like powdered bread has been patter all over your plant .
Leaf spot starts as dark speckle on your plant ’s foliage . It ends with go through your plant in black mold . Both of these diseases can be treated with a fungicide .
The last disease you should be aware of is root rot . This forms when your industrial plant is n’t placed in well - draining soil . Beat this disease by picking a selection location for your French pancake Vinca minor .
If you pick out a right planting location , stay aware of pest , and address at the first signs of disease you should have a positively charged gardening experience .
Growing crepe myrtle Tree is n’t a complicated appendage . By picking the easiest grow method for your taste , providing a proper grow place , and furnish a few basic needs , you should be able to grow this plant without progeny .
Don’t Murder Your Crepe Myrtle!
One of the biggest misconceptions about crepe myrtle tree is that they need to be cut back back significantly each twelvemonth . It ’s painful to see someone in your neck of the woods who has chopped the tree back so much that you only see the trunk of the tree . Although the tree will uprise back , this is n’t sizable for it and it looks bad and takes a long time for the tree diagram to recover .
Here are two expectant usher to how you should and should n’t prune your crepe myrtle tree each year , and the appropriate citation .
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/stopthecrape.html
“ Crapemyrtles are among the tough , most adaptable , and sporty works that we can raise in our Texas landscapes . They have very few pests . They blossom all summer long . They need no auxiliary irrigation . They have exfoliate barque that reveals spectacular liquid proboscis . And they happen to have a branching social organization that any flowered designer would crave . They jolly much do every matter but mow the lawn for us .
But for some understanding , a mysterious cause that I have n’t quite solved , the legal age of the “ gardeners ” ( and ALL of the landscape crowd ) in Texas have made it a horrid rite of butchering them . ”
https://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/gardens/stop-dont-chop-crepe-myrtles
“ Each Saturday morning time after football time of year terminate , legions of bored men gird with saws and pruning hook issue from their garages to commit “ crepe slaying . ” They needlessly abbreviate gallant French pancake Vinca minor to ugly stump – in many cases , ruining them evermore . ”
More About Crepe MyrtleTrees
https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C944&title=Crape%20Myrtle%20Culture
fall into place to access pg_lain.pdf
