Crepe Myrtles: How to Add Color to Your Landscape

If you live in the southern regions of the country and want a flowering tree to accent your home then the crepe myrtle may be a great choice. These beautiful bushes and trees bloom for 2-3 months through the late spring and early summer. Depending on the variety crepe myrtle is adaptable to zones 7 through 10.

These beautiful trees love sun needing at least 6-8 hours each day and good drainage to develop flowers. Avoid fertilizing the trees as high nitrogen fertilizers lead to more leaves not flowers. The only persnickety part of crepe myrtles is they don't like wet roots.

For all of us who live in the humidity high areas there are varieties of crepe myrtle which have been bred to resist that gardening problem of powdery mildew. Just read the tag on the tree to make sure it has mildew resistance.

With their showy blossoms crepe myrtles can fit either a very traditional and formal setting or a more casual contemporary home landscape. Crepe myrtles come in a variety of sizes from bushes to trees. When you are looking at buying crepe myrtles consider the location you want to grow them. Crepe myrtle tree varieties such as Dynamite and Natchez can reach heights of 20-30 feet. The dwarf crepe myrtles or bush size plants grow 3-6 feet high.

You can find crepe myrtle in a variety of colors from a pure white to a blazing scarlet to delicate pink and all shades in between. The blossoms come in showy clusters which cover the tree. Not only is crepe myrtle blooming from July to October, but in fall the leaves turn gorgeous fall hues.

If you are someone who hates sweeping patios and walkways, then don't place the crepe myrtles near walkways. With all the shedding of the old flowers over the 2-3 month growing period there are lots of blossoms to sweep. But for me the trade off of the beautiful flowers is worth the sweeping I have to do.

Once the crepe myrtles have set in their roots, they are extremely drought tolerant and low maintenance. Other than an occasional watering during summer heat the crepe myrtles require no other care other than an occasional pruning. Contrary to popular belief it it is not necessary to prune the crepe myrtle back to its base.

In fact overly aggressive pruning can lead to a season of no blossoms . A highly pruned crepe myrtle spends its growing energy on developing new branches and growth instead of flowers. If you do choose to prune do so in late winter or early spring as this will encourage new growth. In addition you can prune flowers or dead head the flowers just after they have faded to encourage new flowers to grow.

Crepe myrtles are great color accents for any landscape plan. They provide color, but best of all are low maintenance. Consider adding them to your yard if you want showy color and low care plants.