Anyone else get into a Crape Myrtle obsession? I started collecting them a decade ago..., Zuni (magenta), Hopi, Dynamite, Catalba (purple), Tuscarora (coral/pink)...This week, needed to cut out all but the Hopi. People do not realize that many eventually want to be TREES. My favortes are the pure indica Red Dynamites and the Hopi (it's hybrid with soothing pale pink colors). I just ordered another Dynamite for the two I had removed, but different location. Above is Dynamite Red The Hopi is the one above the right with the paler soft pink colors, and I prefer it to the more garish Toscarora.

There are many miniature crApe myrtle cultivars. Some are groundcovers. 'New Orleans', for instance, tops out at somewhere near 8 inches. There are quite a few cultivars that grow to around 2 or 3 feet,

I wouldn't expect the leaves to be going brown in Autumn if it's a crepe myrtle. (They might colour up a little though with something nicer than brown.) Maybe it's an abelia and there's a bit of bronze to it. Surprisingly hard to tell for certain which one it is from the photos; I think one and then the other. Hang on, it's got red flowers. So it must be crepe myrtle. As has already been said, there are dwarf varieties, as in shrub size, but it wouldn't surprise me if by now there are very, very short, squat varieties. And in the pictures, they do look squat. So I'm now saying it's crepe myrtle. Do all the leaves fall off in winter? ETA: Hang on, they stay green in winter?? E(again)TA: Oh that's right, you realised they do fall off. I'm getting old too.

The sooty mold in itself is not harmful......unless it covers all the foliage. That can affect photosynthesis. But if it is just scattered around, you do not need to do anything to it, although it can be rubbed off with water. To actually treat for sooty mold, you need to get rid of the source, which in this case is allegedly scale. There are a number of different kinds of scale and they are typically treated differently, although a systemic will work for most types. Get rid of the scale and the sooty mold will disappear.