Seeds can be killed by excess heat. All that was needed was for you put them in a brown paper bag left open and let them dry naturally. There is normally two seeds per hull. I always have several bags of different seeds, in the house drying at this time of year. My wife is not happy with that, but she tolerates it. Al

"No plants in my yard have caused me more stress over being the last to leaf out than my Crape Myrtles. They scare me to death every year and yet they always come through." Stress?! Gardens are supposed to lead to relaxation, not stress. Crape Myrtles are INCREDIBLY resilient in areas in which they are cold hardy. In a NORMAL year for me they are LATE, LATE, LATE. Coastal waters delay my Springs, then someone flips the switch and it's FULL SUMMER, why bother with "Spring". I will check for buds later but don't expect much, it's been an unusually cold Spring so far in much of the lower Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. At the other end of the season, mine have been in bloom into NOVEMBER! Actually, I think it's hardier to KILL them! Several years ago, we had a weird February with very warm days but also some cold nights. My favorite Crape Myrtle 'Hopi' tree developed a frost crack on the south side of the tree which eventually spit it in half. I chopped it down and replaced it with another 'Hopi'. The original "dead" one completely rejuvenated itself from the roots is was soon a TREE again! I disagree about them not being as beautiful, given pruning, patience, and time you can create the tree you envision.

I didn't see larger, older one at C.U.H. flowering after it was moved from the hotspot on the south side of the old Arboretum office to the open collections, where there was no reflected heat. Current location, on south side of C.U.H. seems to have brought about a return to regular flowering. Those planted out in the parking north of Douglas Conservatory will also be getting plenty of warmth off of the asphalt around them.

come on beany ... no plant in the tree... conifer.. shrub world.. stops growing at some magical height ... left.. untouched for a decade.. i am sure this thing will be well past 18 inches ... it simply wont stop there... ALWAYS convert to the latin ... as i have often said ... and look at the pics at the link below .. frankly.. i dont see any that are an 18 inch ball of love ... many are much wider ... and one looks huge.. if its the same plant .. you can check that link ... so then.. it always falls back.. to the gardener pruning plants.. to achieve or maintain the plant at the size required ... sorry.. no direct with CMs in my MI ken https://www.google.com/search?q=Lagerstroemia+%27Pocomoke&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMItNrUq4uSxgIVwgqSCh2EtgDT&biw=864&bih=745&dpr=0.9