I would think the leaves would show it if it's over watering. Maybe it's the heat causing the blooms to turn dark real fast. Is that what they look like as they age normally? If drainage is good, they should be able to take it. I am watering the ones I have in pots daily right now.

I've got 3 very large CM,hubby brought in off a job(hwy const.)that were headed for the city dump( in the way of a big job on I30). I don't care for CM but hate to see waste so he brought them home. This was the year of very hot tempts and drought,they sat out back with small root ball with barely any any soil for two weeks before I could drag them into place and plant them. I watered them very little. That was 7-8 yrs ago,they're still growing strong. They get run off water from the nursery which means a lot of water since water is run daily this time of year.I don't think you can kill a CM.

Oh yeah,CM's bloom on new wood,prune them back and they rebloom.

PP

I think your right Millie. The leaves look great so I guess it's just that it's in it's first year that they don't look so great. I'm going to do a little dead heading this evening and see if that helps any. Does anybody use phosphate this time of year? I was told that it really promotes new bloom growth but is it too late in the year to be worrying about that?

Jodonne, any chance you have JBs after them? They have eaten nearly all the blooms off mine out in the yard. The rooted cuttings are fine because they haven't bloomed yet. Since scent seems to be such a big factor with JBs, I may try making some spray using the leaves from plants they don't care for. Next year I may have a sudden urge for lots of Marigolds. ;O)

Peg, I have found them to be nearly indestructable plants, too. No wonder they are favored in harsh environments. And, have you ever had a cutting fail? I have a bad habit of doing 6 of everything...got to get over that. LOL

No, have'nt seen any JB's this year. I try to use systemic fertilizers in the spring to help ward off those little things. And it's funny you should mention the marigolds because the tree's are planted in qtr. circle beds at the end of the drive way and have marigolds surrounding the trees with other plants at the edges of the beds. Maybe that's why I don't have any JB's around here.
So how do you root Crepes? I thought they were hard to make cuttings from?!?!?!?!?

We've got crape myrtles planted in with the roses, which get huge amounts of water..no problem for the CMs. In fact, all of ours are on the watering system..I actually think they like the water and look better. I've got a couple of reds in pots (from the plant swap) and I noticed how the blooms are not lasting very long on them. They get watered daily and fed well..may just be the 100+ temps we have been having. The whites and lighter pinks are doing fine.

I inherited a purple crepe myrtle last year and bought a dwarf red. Beautiful foilage on them, but no bloom. The dwarf red has bud on it and will be blooming soon I think. I thought they should be blooming by now! They get full sun from about 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. I can hardly wait to see them bloom!
Nancy U

Jodonne, you have mail! Crepe's are one of the easiest to root of all woody ornamentals. The ones I stuck 8 weeks ago are starting to bloom on their one little stem. Kind of hard to stop them. They were rooted in full sun under mist, and have been kept in full sun all the time since.

I'm gonna have to try rooting some of my Dynamites. I have a friend that could plant as many as I could come up with.

Jodonne,

I bought a dynamite from Neumeier's last year and my wife thinks it is the best crepe myrtle she has ever seen. The only drawback is it blooms for a very short time.
James

I wouldn't expect much from a shrub that was just planted this year.

One of my crepe myrtles has a lot of dead-looking branches this year, although I know they are not dead because they are putting out a few shoots. We pruned out about five big branches at ground level this winter so I would have expected more vigorous growth from the rest. My understanding of CMs was that they should not be cut back much, but perhaps this is wrong. What do you folks do? The rest of the shrub is blooming happily.

Virginia in Virginia

My Rose of Sharons and CMs are not doing as well bloom wise and are not leafed out as well as normal either. I've blamed it on the unuasual weather we've had this year as in cold rainy late spring, than sudden hot dry summer.
My mums budded out in spring and have been blooming a few flowers at a time all summer.Not normal at all.

I bought a "purple" crepe myrtle in AL last fall and planted it in my garden in New Jersey. Although it survived the winter and is full of leaves, I don't see a single flower bud. Yet, the red ones that I purchsed the year before are blooming beautifully as they did the first year. Do the purple ones normally bloom later on? Thanks.

Florcitas - Since you're on the northern end of their range, your crape myrtles need to be in as much sun as you can give them. If it's getting as much sun as the others, I would just give it more time.
Here's a link to the forum for Gardening in New Jersey. They may be able to give you some advice on what crape myrtles do well in your area. You posted in the Ozarks forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening in New Jersey