Crape Myrtles Thrive in the Summer Home Landscape

Crape myrtles are excellent for the summer landscape, they produce attractive,
colorful blossoms, and require minimal maintenance. 

     Some of the most attractive ornamental plants commonly grown in Georgia are the crape myrtles. These plants bloom profusely during the summer and require minimal maintenance. They grow rapidly, have long life spans, and are drought tolerant after becoming established. Crape myrtles have a multitude of valuable uses in the landscape. Since their height is usually 30 feet or less and the roots can grow in restricted areas, they are commonly planted in urban environments such as around office buildings, parking lot islands, traffic medians, and along the sides of streets.
    The most common species of crape myrtle is Lagerstromia indica, a native of China and Korea, and L. fauriei, which is native to Japan. The two species have been crossed to form some excellent hybrids. Crape myrtles varieties come in a multitude of colors ranging from deep purple to red to white, with almost every shade in between. The time of blooming depends upon the particular cultivar. Their heights can vary from less than 3 feet up to 30 feet. Crape myrtles have the additional attractive features of bark coloration, peeling bark, and foliage color. The color of the bark ranges from light gray to reddish brown. Some cultivars have a peeling or exfoliating bark, exposing various colors. Fall foliage can range from brilliant yellow to orange to red colors.
     Crape myrtles need to be planted in locations receiving full sun exposure with good air circulation. They can tolerate many types of soil conditions, but perform best in well drained soil with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. As with other ornamental plants, dig the hole twice the width of the root ball and no deeper than the top of the root ball. Fill in the hole with the backfill that was dug out after removing rocks and other debris. Organic soil amendments are not necessary when planting in individual holes because they can discourage the plant roots from outward into the surrounding soil. Water the plants thoroughly once a week until the plants become established. After that, crape myrtles can tolerate extended dry spells. Avoid applications of fertilizers high in nitrogen, which causes the plant to produce less flowers and more vegetative growth susceptible to pests and, if fertilized in the fall, increased vulnerability to cold damage. Light applications of an all purpose fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, in once during the spring and again in the summer are all that is necessary. During the growing season, as their flowers begin to fade, they develop small hard green seed pods.  Carefully prune out the pods which will encourage the production of more flowers. Remove any suckers that arise from the base of the tree during the growing season.
     The most common pest on crape myrtles is powdery mildew, a fungal disease. It appears as a white to grayish powder on the surfaces of leaves, flowers and new shoots. It is most frequent are the plants are growing in shady, damp locations with poor air circulation and prefers warm days, cool night temperatures and high humidity. To control the fungus, locate plants in full sun and in areas of good air circulation. Certain hybrid varieties were developed at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. with resistance to powdery mildew. These hybrids have Indian names like ‘Natchez’, ‘Muskogee,’ ‘Sioux,’ and ‘Tuskegee.’ Chemical control of powdery mildew is difficult to achieve and is usually not recommended.