Hi, eldo. Thanks for writing. Summers are plenty warm, I'd say, with weeks of highs in the eighties to nineties during the day (during our current drought it's been getting over a hundred), though cooling at night to the seventies, at times sixties. Our heat-loving roses are blessedly happy here, for example. I'll consider the shade factor, though this plant isn't in shade, to be honest, not under a tree. It does get a good deal of sun. Also, in my dad's yard in Florida (where I am now) I notice that the crepe myrtles with shade are really reaching for the heavens, extremely leggy, while this plant is healthily compact. Could the dry summer conditions be a problem, dry air I mean? ????? Thanks for the input. Melissa

My advice is to leave it alone. Don't know if there is any truth to this, but an old gardener told me things bloom better after a stress situation. He said it's because flowering is how they procreate, so they go crazy flowering when they're unsure about survival to make sure their species survives. So I'd been complaining that my crepe myrtle hadn't bloomed hardly at all in '06 and '07. We had the drought situation last year and my 20 year old Myrtle is blooming like I've never seen her. But she just started last weekend. Is it maybe that your variety is a later blooming time like mine is? Gayle

Suja has a point. You can deadhead them, which on my shrub type, I sometimes do. I clip off the whole cluster. Be careful that you're cutting OLD ones, vs. the new ones, because they look pretty similar. You didn't talk about the sun exposure. These puppies need a good 7-8 hours a day of sun to bloom well. Fertilizing should be done in the spring, when things are just warming up. Christine

Here in Northeastern Ohio, I have been growing the "Zuni" crepe myrtle for about 5 years. Some years it dies back completely to the ground, others it doesn't die back at all, depending on the severity of the winter. I planted a small "Catawba" last year that had very little tip die back after -3F. One thing is for sure that no matter how much they die back the always regrow very quickly and flower in August, when not much else is in bloom. Also, I have had good luck with Edith Bogue Southern Magnolia here and this year planted two 8 ft. Bracken's Brown Beauty... We'll see how they do. Finally just a note and some observations for those who might want to try crepe myrltes up here--- Our temps in NE Ohio seem to be somewhat influenced and moderated by Lake Erie, so the extreme cold isn't as severe as mid Ohio, but cold below 32F is more persistent which can be just as dangerous to marginal plant survival... Luckily, more than generous lake effect snow cover can aid in the survival of old wood on crepe myrtles allowing for less damage to occur. Also our consitant cloud cover and lack of sun in the winter may seem like a curse, but it is a blessing to many marginally hardy broadleaved evergreens, because the summer sun, in particular appears to do more damage by drying out evergreens such as Holly, Rhododendrons, and Southern Magnolias. these are just some of my personal observations. I look forward to here what others have to say on this.