Shrub ID?

[Eric Miller]

I have been looking for another plant to attract humminbirds and noticed the one in the photos at the following link:

from the photos, here is what I know about the plant:

It is in Zone 9a and has survived temps down to upper teens last winter. It is deciduous. Two weeks ago when I last saw both plants (they are about two miles apart), they had no leaves. The photos showing the blooms were taken in mid-May, two years ago. The height is approximately

10 feet for the one in the second photo, about eight feet for the one in the first photo. After the blooms are gone, I have never noticed fruit on the plant.

Eric Miller

[Val]

I think that's a Crape Myrtle. There are quite a few different kinds and colors but from what I can see in the pictures it looks like some sort of Crape Myrtle. Crape is like 'cape' with an R ;)

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Given the growth pattern I'd have to agree.. One giveaway is the bark along the branches, it peals away and the wood is typically a nice white/grey..

Makes good walking sticks. I've got one, it's 15-20' or so now.

[Charlie]

How in the hell do you even begin to use a 15-20 ft walking stick?

Charlie

[David E. Ross]

If you mean Lagerstroemia indica, this cannot be correct. The humidity in Louisiana would cause such mildew that vigorous growth would not be possible. Even in my low-humidity area, mildew is common on crape myrtle, much more common than on roses or other plants.

New growth is quite red. Fall foliage turns red-orange without there being any frost; indeed, a hard frost ends the color.

Finally, I had a crape myrtle for eight years. They had been planted on my block as street trees. While I saw many hummingbirds in my area, I never saw one feeding from crape myrtle flowers.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

11-16' stilts, how else?

[Charlie]

Touché ;-)

Charlie

[Val]

Once again, as always, you are full of pompous, pontificating CRAP; as in crape with no 'e'. Now head off to the University of Louisiana horticulture site (among many others) and check out their MANY different cultivars of Lagerstroemia indica. You will find that crape myrtle is one of the most popular and widely used landscaping plants of the south and southeast. Then you should probably check out all the images and documentation of hummingbirds swarming crape myrtle. Contrary your vast *KNOWLEDGE* Santa Monica is not the be all, end all, center of horticulture. Obviously, despite all your self touted wisdom, an extremely poor choice was made as to the cultivar of Lagerstroemia indica moldering in your garden. Many have been developed that are quite resistant to mildew.

You're a first cousin to that "tree expert guy" aren't you.

Val

[RichardB]

I don't think the suggestions of crape myrtle can be correct. To me it looks like a pomegranate (Punica granatum). Take a look at Google images and see if you agree. They grow OK here in western Oregon (USDA zone 8).

RB

[Eric Miller]

Yep, I have lots of Crape Myrtles growing in my yard. This definitely isn't one. The blooms are wrong and the shape of the bush isn't right. Others have suggested pomegranate on another forum, I'll have to look that up. I guess it wouldn't be an attractant for hummingbirds?

Eric Miller

[MaryL]

This does not look like a crepe myrtle to me. I live in East Texas, and it certainly would not fit any of the varieties we have here (although the blossoms do look somewhat like the blossoms might look at the very end of their season when the petals of all except the end have dropped). Still, I have not seen any where the entire tree would look like that. It does look like a myrtle of some sort, though. The leaves look somewhat like a wax myrtle, but the flowers do not.

MaryL

[Val]

Eric, if you are at all able to get a leaf or some type of sample of that plant to most nurseries they could tell you what it was. Are there large, snarling dogs guarding the garden. Maybe the owners of the property could tell you.

I did find this picture of an ornamental pomegranate.

really does appear to be pretty close to what you have in your photos. The thing that stumped me was you saying there was no fruit. Apparently some double blossom ornamental pomegranate do NOT set fruit so this very well could be what you are looking for.

Val

[David E. Ross]

Others also question the identification as crape myrtle. They suggest it might indeed by pomegranate. Now that I've read their replies, I must say that the flowers do indeed resemble pomegranate. Further, hummingbirds do feed from pomegranate flowers.

It now appears that you are the one who is full of crap.

[Jangchub]

I can't ID it based on these photo's. Much higher resolution of the flowers would be the only way to ID it. I can say, this is definitely not Crape Myrtle.

[Jangchub]

Okay, this is silly; the proper spelling of Lagerstroemia indica in its common name is crape with an 'A.' Sorry.

Also, What was pompous about the post. As far as I can tell everything said was fact based and accurate with no intonation of any sort, so what gives?

I have several 25 foot crape myrtles, it's all true about foliage coloration, and fungal problems.

Also, hummingbirds do not go to this plant at all for nectar. I have at least 6 types of hummingbirds every year and I have many dozens of them and none of them even land on the crapes.

[Val]

It's not a question of identifying the tree, it's your blather about not being able to grow crape myrtle in Louisiana. If you quit moving your lips when you read perhaps your comprehension would be enhanced. Val

[Some Buddy Else]

Eric is searching for a certain shrub....try this link and see if what you find. Fran

[JXStern]

How about a closeup of leaves and flowers?

It could be some variety of bottlebrush

they are not deciduous.

J.

[Eric Miller]

There are no leaves on the plant at present. I'm fairly certain that it is not a bottlebrush. I have one of those in my yard and I am very familiar with it, though the flower color does match.

I have had many suggestions that it is a pomegranate. Never having knowingly seen one before, I was very reluctant to accept that ID, and yet more and more people have made the same suggestion. After poring over lots of photos of pomegranates, I'm fairly well convinced that that is what it must be. I've never seen any fruit on it, but there are ornamental varieties that do not produce fruit. I'll get more photos when it leafs out and blooms which should be sometime in May.

Eric Miller

[JXStern]

I have a pomegranate, and it is certainly deciduous even here in Los Angeles, we get no fruit on it either, the flowers are very ornate, the branches are covered with sucker growth (that I should probably trim off).

J.