Question about my damaged Crepe Myrtle trees
bananafan2
5 years ago
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Help! My crepe (crape) myrtle tree wants to be a bush!
Comments (6)Reluctantartist, The correct spelling of crape myrtle is with an "a". As ltruett's link indicates, this may not be the best choice for the style of tree you want, and you might be better off replacing it with one that has a more naturally vertical form. You could however do a lot to encourage your 'Acoma' to grow into a tree form. Proper pruning and maybe even staking the plant could result in a form more like what you seek. If you leave the plant alone, like you are doing now, I don't think you can expect it to take on the form you want. You should probably make a decision to either replace it or work with it and manage its form....See MoreAnother question about underplanting Crepe Myrtles
Comments (5)There are different varieties of lantana. The standard yellow will be 12-15". Whatever you plant, regardless its height you want to have something more than just a 2 week bloom of color (like most daylilies). They take up a lot of room and expand each year until your underplantings for long color have less room. CMs have a fairly long blooming season but for most of the year it's just green leaves. So, the punch of color impact has to be bright and everblooming until the leaves drop off the CM in winter. Failing that..that's why I suggested digging holes and inserting planting pots to save the space for annuals which you can plant and pull when they cease flowering and refresh that spot with another kind of plant....See MoreQuestion about Crepe Myrtles
Comments (12)That is a great spot for a good focal point. While I am really fond of the Acoma Crepe Myrtle (It has a growth pattern that gives it almost an oriental look), I would consider an Anacacho Orchid. It is a very hardy, care-free native that blooms twice per year, spring and fall. The tree itself is beautiful, and the blooms smell great. Next to the door, that would be a great benefit. I think it looks best as a small tree and will grow to about 10 feet or so. It is not very commonly used, so it would be a great conversation piece, as well. If you are set on a shrub, try Grecian Pattern Plant, if you can get it. It stands out well on its own as a shrub for a focal point. The foliage is beautiful, and it has a whitish spike bloom that is just stunning. If you use this one, keep an eye on it in the summer heat to make sure it isn't getting scorched. Treating occasionally with Liquid Seaweed can help. Another option would be to use Agave. Again, they are great at standing out in a bed, and they are very low maintenance. With your existing landscape I would recommend one of the smaller varieties, but the Blue Agave would look great, so long as you don't mind it having it removed and replaced with a younger specimen every five or six years. I would recommend staying away from any of the hedge-type shrubs, as they will tend to either blend in with the existing hedge or look like they were planted mistakenly. On the subject of crepe myrtles, I definitely recommend pruning them, so long as you are pruning selectively from the bottom up, and not 'topping' or pruning from the top down. While it is fine to prune off the old seed heads at the end of the season, hacking the tops off can open them up to problems in the future. If you start with a variety that only gets to the height that you want, you should never have to top them. Happy Planting! Jeff Rodgers Blue Collar Gardeners Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Collar Gardeners Podcast...See MoreCrepe Myrtle - fire damage
Comments (4)Thank you. It is very painful to drive by all the burned remains of the houses. From what I understand, none of the neighbors who lived in my cul de sac and lost their houses will be returning, which is disappointing as we all got along well. It is now down to one other house and me. Insurance will cover replacement and re-seeding (not pruning). I can comfortably wait until December or January to see how things turn out. I'll have my hands full aerating, composting, mulching, etc, plus replacing all the tools that I lost in the shed, that I can hold off on the crepe myrtles. Thankfully they aren't near any utility lines, so no one will cut them down before I'm ready to do so. I still have some boxwoods up against the house. As long as the area is kept well-watered (my gray water comes out there), bushes aren't a threat to the house. The ones I took out were the ones near the base of the pines as I had been instructed in a wildfire prevention course those can act as kindling. I also took out any pines that looked sickly (pine bark beetle and drought have been very hard on them) and in that way created an open space around the house. Unfortunately, I did lose most of my roses, my oleander, etc. It was a wildfire, after all. I have a feeling between the fire and the drought, it will be a rather blank landscape for the near future....See Morebananafan2
5 years agobananafan2
5 years ago
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
5 years agobananafan2 thanked cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agobananafan2 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5bananafan2
5 years agobananafan2
5 years ago
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