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crape myrtles: mail order websites

16 years ago

Hi,

Do any of you have any experience ordering Crape Myrtle Trees online via mail order websites? I'm yearning to plant a Crape Myrtle tree this Fall on the southeast corner of my house, but none of the garden centers in my area have any Crapes in stock. I found a mail order company in North Carolina called 'FAST GROWING TREES NURSERY' that has a bunch of Crapes in stock and they assured me that their Crapes will acclimate just fine in my part of New Jersey (zone6). I know this is right at the cut-off point where Crape Myrtles are considered to be hardy. Do you think I'm safe planting Crapes in my zone? I just thought I'd throw this message on the forum and see what others have to say. Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks!

Bobby~

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Comments (11)

suel41452
16 years ago
Sooner Plant Farm lists several new ones that they claim are hardy to zone 6. Here's a link to that page:
http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/specials.specDetail/recID/31/index.htm
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suel41452
16 years ago
Also, it probably matters a good deal exactly what zone 6 you're in, i.e., 6a or 6b. Here's a detailed zone map by county of NJ if you copy & paste this link:
http://images.meredith.com/bhg/pdf/gardening/hardiness/hzm_NewJersey.pdf
If you're zone 6 nearer zone 7 areas of NJ, it should help a crape survive winter better than, say, that zone 6 bordering zone 5.
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I'm sorry that several people had problems with this company, which goes by several names: Mini Crape Mytles, Crape Myrtle Farms, Crape Myrtle Company, among others. I saw the posts about the company but decided to risk it and order my dwarf crape myrtles from them. Any where else I looked on the web, the crape mytles were from $17 to $39 apiece; from this company they were ony $6.25! I crossed my fingers and called my order in. In three days I had all 20 crape myrtles, averaging two feet in height and all in excellent condition. They are now in the ground and doing fine. I did notice that most all the negative posts about this company were prior to 2005. Since then the posts have been positive, for the most part. Perhaps the company has changed for the better?? Also--when I did a check with the NE Florida Better Business Bureau, under the name "Crape Myrtle Farms" I found only 1 complaint in the past year. I ordered from this "Crape Myrtle Farms" site, address Archer, FL. and saved a bundle.
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bobby1973
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks so much - greatly appreciated!
Bobby~
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diggingthedirt
16 years ago
I would not do business with a company by that name; "fast growing trees" does not sound at all like anyone who is going to give you a straight story about their stock. Of COURSE they'll tell you their crapes will do well for you, even in Alaska.

Actually I wouldn't shop at any mail order company that's not listed on garden watchdog, and they are not there.

Here is a link that might be useful: garden watchdog
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texasredhead
16 years ago
There is a good reason nurseries in your area do not handle crape myrtles. What is your typical winter? How cold does it get and for how long? What is your average snowfall? What you will experience is the plant continually dying back in the winter and you ending up with a small shrub. Crapes do best in zones 8 & 9 as well as the more southern reaches of zone 7.
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suel41452
16 years ago
I live on the edge of zone 6/7 (admittedly more northern zone 7) and my Natchez, America, Zuni, Catawba, Dynamite, don't die back at all in the winter. My 2 yr. old Acoma hasn't bloomed or grown very well, but it's on a northern slope & I'm going to move it to a southern spot.
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suel41452
16 years ago
From people who've tried growing crape myrtles in colder climes like yours, copy & paste this link to glean useful information from other GW members:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sources/msg0622040314407.html
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suel41452
16 years ago
One more thing about hardiness - ask if the C.M. is tip hardy in your zone, or root hardy. If it's just root hardy, it most likely dies to the ground & resprouts each year and you'll have a shrub CM.
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suel41452
16 years ago
You might check out the C.M.s at Rarefind Nursery: http://www.rarefindnursery.com
They're in zone 6 NJ and sound like the kind of people who love plants & could give you useful tips on growing C.M. in your part of NJ.
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bobby1973
Original Author
16 years ago
thanks for all your helpful advice 'suel' - greatly appreciated. i notice you're from VA - what a gorgeous state! you're certainly not short of crape myrtles in there:) my brother and his family actually live down in richmond, so i drive down there often to visit them. that's where i first saw crape myrtles. i'm continually amazed how beautiful they are and how abundant they are in your state.

i actually drove down to delaware this morning and picked up 2 crapes from a nursery down there.

see ya,
bobby~
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suel41452
16 years ago
Godd Luck with your crape myrtles!
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