Crape myrtles and super-wet clay soil?
Roxanne
17 years ago
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denisew
17 years agoelphaba_gw
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Crape Myrtles - Good/Bad
Comments (26)Janet, I think the possumhaws would grow easily from transplanted suckers. They do sucker a lot but I've never tried to dig a sucker and move it. If the sucker is coming up some distance from the mother plant, I just dig the sucker, sever it from the root of the mother plant, and toss it on the compost pile. Don't get me wrong because I do love the possumhaws and appreciate their use as a food for wildlife, but I don't want more of them than we already have. Or, if the sucker is coming up right on the main trunk, I prune it off while it is small. Some of mine sucker a lot, and others don't. Mine produce berries just fine no matter what their sun exposure happens to be but the amount varies with the sun exposure. One of the clumps of possumhaws that produces the largest loads of berries grows to the east of a very large pecan tree so it only gets full sun early in the morning and is in dappled shade the rest of the day. Even those growing in the woods produce decent amounts of berries though. Most produce very red berries that eventually fade to a more orangeish-red in the winter but a couple produce berries that are an orangey-red from the start. The birds generally don't eat the berries until late winter as their flavor is very astringent and they are not 'preferred' food, but the birds do eat them after they've eaten up everything they like more. None of the plants you listed are growing on our property but some of them may grow elsewhere in southern OK where the soil is sandy and drains better than our clay. We do have various native solanums that closely resemble purple groundcherry, but I don't think I have seen purple ground cherry here. We do have Carolina Horsenettle (aka Virginia Ground Cherry) and two that I believe are Torry's Nightshade and Silverleaf Nightshade. They usually bloom in midsummer and then form the fruit that look sort of like small, immature tomatoes that never get very large or sort of like the seedpods that form on potato plants. The horsenettle and nightshades are very, very drought-tolerant. This summer, when we were out at wildfires all over the county, often the nightshades were just about the only plants still green in July and August whether they were growing in the sandier soils in western and southern portions of the county, or clay in other areas, or rocky ridges in more northernmost parts of the county. They seem able to adapt to just about any soil type. I believe southern Oklahoma shares many native plants that also are found in Texas, but it varies a lot just as our soil types vary a lot. Having mostly dense, red clay, I generally see native plants that are clay-tolerant and are typical of what you'd find in the blackland prairies in north central Texas. This summer we were out time and again at fires in very sandy soil in parts of the county that have a lot of sand and I saw plants there that I'd never seen here before. Some of them were so new to me that I didn't know what I was seeing, while I recognized others even though I didn't know that they grew here. Love County is right in the middle of southern OK with I-35 cutting it right in half, and the further west you go in our county, the more you see native plants that resemble what you see in western north Texas or even west Texas. Conversely, the further east you go, the more you see the types of plants more typical of northeastern Texas. It is a fascinating study in the difference that soil and rainfall make even in a fairly small area. Our rainfall in our county varies a lot, with the more western portions of the county often getting 4 to 6" less rainfall per year than the more eastern portions, and the plants that do best in that drier sand are often different from those that do best in more eastern parts of the county....See MoreCrape Myrtles and Indian Hawthrone
Comments (3)Right now your new pants are getting established. They're in shock and trying to grow their root systems. Don't expect them look good with that going on and this excessive heat and lack of rain. Right now most of us are just trying to keep everything alive... forget the growth and blooms, and that's on well established (11 yr old) trees and shrubs. Come end of Sept everything will look much much better. I promise. :)...See MoreRed Rocket Crape Myrtle Leaves Turning Dark/Black
Comments (2)The plant is ok, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just producing large amounts of anthocyanin (red pigments) in the leaves maybe in response to the large amount of sun it gets. Actually the flowers can fade on cloudy days because it doesn't get enough sun i think....See MoreCatawba Crape Myrtle Help
Comments (7)Agree with PK, it looks fine. You don’t have to overthink or obsess over these, trust us! Just keep it watered the first 1-2 yrs, til established. The amount will depend on various factors — amount of sun, soil, wind, temps, etc. Stick your finger in the ground and see if it’s dry. I’ve grown them over 25 yrs in heavy clay, no amending of soil is necessary. My newest one is a few weeks old now, and I water it once a week if no rain. More mulch is fine, just not up against the trunk. If your winters are extreme, that will probably keep the size in check. Otherwise, yes, Catawbas can get nearly as wide as tall. You might want to ask at a local nursery if CMs die back in your area in winter ... if yes, it should send shoots out the next spring. If if you want it to be tree form, go ahead and snip off the lower branches. If not, leave them. Either way is fine, personal preference....See MoreRoxanne
17 years agoTina Buell (Z9b)
6 years agoSusan Simmons
3 years agoroselee z8b S.W. Texas
3 years ago
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