I moved into a house about 10 yrs ago and there was a huge lilac bush in the front yard, but VERY over grown with branches that hung out every where. I didn't want to cut the bush down because I love lilac but I needed to really trim it. I only cut off branches that looked dead or totally dry nothing that was green and only from the sides nothing from the top so I thought it would be ok (I am no where near a gardening expert) but for the past few years it has gotten less and less bloom. Is it totally gone or do I just need to wait it out. It hasn't gotten a really good bloom in the past 6-7 yrs. I'm wondering if I should just give up but I keep thinking next year it will be better. Any suggestions??

Natches Crepe myrtles usually grow fast when they are young and are one of the potentially tallest growing cultivars of CMs. Yours likely get the right amount of water they like during their spring growth flush, and the nitrogen issue will definately compound that fast growth issue. The tree that is not blooming could be getting less direct sun rays. Is there a tall tree or some other structure that is out of the shot, but which is tall enough to cast signifcant hours of shade on that CM. If so that could be another reason you CM is not blooming yet, even though the Natches on the other end of the house has begun to bloom. Personally if I wanted a corner accent CMs I would not have chosen the Natches cultivar. Especially considering that those multi trunks have the potential to get overly thick and the canopy they each produce can end up being more massive than one would think they might want spreading so close to the corner of house. Guess to avoid such issues, either late winter or very early next spring, you could do corrective pruning that transforms your Cms to single trunk trees. but whether or not you choose to do that you will find the you also will need to yearly raise each tree's canopy, until the yearly pruning time arrives when your trees are tall enough that their canopies are higher than your roof line and are no longer close enough to hang down on and brush against your house shingles.

Ahhh... could be! I bought them at a flea market flower show and they were only labeled "phlox". (This is my first try at growing phlox so I don't know much about them.) Judging from the looks of them in the containers it appeared as if the seller had dug the plants straight out of the ground and put them into pots. They were just a mass of flowers when I bought them... I'm hopeful that they ARE a spring-flowering variety. (More to look forward to next year!) Thanks for the reply, Carol!

I hear you all. Don't know what these crazy plants like. I have 4. 2 new ones doing well in full sun but had buds when I bought them. One gets shade from 2pm on. Nothing blooming yet. Not even a sign of it. Died to the ground over winter. The last one gets sun from noon to sunset with a break from 2-3 pm. It looks as though it may have one bud coming. It has been in place for 3 years now. I bought it the very first year they were out. Dies to the ground every winter and has never got bigger than 12 inches in all directions. I am so disappointed and stupid enough to have invested in 2 new ones this year. What are the other continuous bloomers out there? I am new to hydrangeas It may be time to consider replacing the 3 year old.