Crape Myrtles

[Over40pirate]

I just purchased 3 types of crape myrtles....Tonto, Dynamite and Tuscarora. Are any of these the "tree" type or are they all the "V-Shaped" bush type? Thanks

[Roy]

You can pretty well make em houw you want them. Crepe myrtles are pretty darn versitle in that they can be shaped, or allowed to be really bush from the lower sections up like a shrub or just trimed to have all the growth on top. Next to impossible to kill also. They have them planted all along the boulevards here in town and they are routinely broken off and run over by vehicles and before you know it they are putting out new growth and in no time look like the rest of the trees thats there. Gotta love those Crepe Myrtles.

My favorites are the peppermint. Flowers are white with red highlights or stripes just like a peppermeint stick. Visit my website:

expressed are those of my wife, I had no input whatsoever. Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Gardñ]

[e-mail] (Over40pirate) in news: [e-mail]:

, i think i've heard some varieties prefer to be multis or standards. growht variations because Lagerstroemia are hybrids

try gogling those cv names with

i thikn you could train them eihter way (as other reply says)

[KCnRichmond]

Just dont top them... If you want a certain height, get that kind...Crape Murder...........Opens the tree to all kinds of fungus & disease........

[KCnRichmond]

Crap..........

[Mike Prager]

Try searching with Google on e.g. crape myrtle dynamite. This is what I turned up:

this:

Lagerstroemia indica 'Dynamite'? usda plant hardiness zones: 6, 7, 8, 9 . considered root hardy in zone 5 sunset plant hardiness zones: 7-10, 12-14, 18-21, 25-31 mature height: 15-20' best known for its: vibrant cherry red summer flowers . high mildew resistance . distinctive crimson-colored new growth plant family + type: lythraceae . deciduous summer flowering tree origin: Dr. Carl Whitcomb, Stillwater, Oklahoma . Plant Patent # 10296 . Whit II mildew resistance: high growth habit: upright . multi-trunked . moderate horizontal branching flower color: brilliant true red bark: tan autumn foliage color: orange blooming period: summer . autumn preferences: full sun, well-drained soils, good air circulation, soil pH: 5.0-6.5 excellent choice for: specimen flowering accent tree . groves . screens and border plantings crape myrtle maintenance: avoid over fertilizing; it reduces flowering . prune only to thin out canopy; improves light and air circulation . remove sucker growth as necessary

----------

this:

Medium Shrubs - (mature height 5 to 10 feet) [...] Tonto - Bright red flowers are produced on this upright, rounded plant. 'Tonto' has the best red flowers of any of the disease-resistant hybrids.

-----

I'll leave 'Tuscarora' to you.

MHP

P.S. Good you are asking about sizes. Heights vary widely. It's no fun to plant the wrong size and have to prune constantly, and the cuts do provide sites for disease entry.

You probably know, they like strong, direct sun.

Mike Prager Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a) (Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)

[Frogleg]

Around here, we use the term "Crape Murder" for pollarding. That is, pruning back everything to a few main stubs, which encourages new growth and bloom at the cut point each year. It makes the trees look

*awful* for half the year, and the constant cutting increases the risk of disease.

Where Crape Myrtles are "root hardy," and die back each winter, they will naturally be the bush form. For tree form, trim off all but a few main stems at the base. I have one 30' tree that's a single trunk up to about 4', and another 20-25' that's 3 intertwined main 'stems.' Recently heard you're supposed to leave an odd number to grow, 'though I have no clue why.

[Babberney]

Not exactly. True pollarding is sustainable and, to some people, attractive. Originally. it was a practice designed to produce an annual supply of easy-to-reach firewood, I believe.

The common practice applied to crapes is topping, and it's never a good idea from the standpoint of the tree (any tree). It can be a good way to turn a tree into a bush, if you're so inclined, but only if the tree is realatively small and young. Topping a mature tree will often kill it.

K

For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit

consumer info about tree care, visit

[Frogleg]

I see that both topping

pollarding referred to as "Crape murder." I have seen many examples of the pollarding technique, and it's just as ugly for Crape Myrtles as it is for the beech trees used in the example above.

Since the tree is deciduous, you have to look at the bare skeleton 4-5 months of the year. I can't imagine how *anyone* would find a stub with whiskers attractive, while the bare unmutilated tree is quite graceful.