Crapemyrtle...tell me bush or tree ?

I just figured out that these beautiful bushes that I'm seeing are called Crapemyrtle. When I went to our local gardening place to find them it looked to me like possibly there are tree type and bush type. Is that true ?

In the landscape, Crapemyrtle can be grown with a single stem or with multiple stems. That's a gardening choice to be made.

Further south (warmer) one is more likely to find single stem tree forms, because this species grows more vigorously and larger there. Further north, there is the likelihood that the plant will freeze back in colder winter from time to time, resulting in multiple stems from ground level.

You are in zone 6, which kind of straddles the border for how Crapemyrtle will look in the landscape.

Your gardening place is probably selling plants grown further south than PA. The nurseries that produce these will have a variety of styles, depending on the customer demands.

There are a wide range of named selections of Crapemyrtle, too. Take a look at the US National Arboretum website to see all the fine introductions that they have made over the years, and the size range and color range which are available. There are bigger trees, smaller trees/bushes, and some dwarf forms now ('Chickasaw' and 'Pocomoke').

I think they have even produced a poster for them.

There are standards and there are dwarf varieties. You can prune the standards to small/medium size trees, or you can have multiple stem large bush/shrub types. Where I live, they are the dog days of summer version of the spring time azalea. A southern garden usually has both. The newest thing is the Razzle Dazzle dwarf crape myrtles. The standards or the dwarf varieties require little fertilizer, water or pruning. They are great lazy gardener plants. I love them. I wish you well.

Awwwwww Shucks, a cross posting with the man!

Thank you soo much for the quick response !!! I will definitely go to that website to read about.

So I am just making sure that I understand you two. Would you say that probably all the different varieties could be grown as EITHER a bush or a tree based on the pruning and climate conditions ?

And I definitely want RED !
Any recommendations ?

Try "Dynamite". Muscogee is a good Lavender. There are many varieties. In my experience, you can prune it the way you want it. Here's a ditty: Prune UP, not down. Prune to see THROUGH, not over. I wish you well.

Oh good, Dynamite is one that I saw at my local place !

Thanks again Peony01

Dynamite even in the South is slower grower, color is great but it might not be a good choice if it's going to die back in your area. As far as tree or shrub which would you like?? They can be grown either way and for that matter I've seen multiple stems braided together. End result was a 20ft tall tree with about a 20 ft spread.

One word of advice, sun sun sun, they don't like shade and will tend to have fungus problems if they don't get enough sun.

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/hort/landscape/crapemyrtle2.htm#Table

This site has a nicely laid out table showing the different types. I came across it the other day while looking for a dwarf variety.

Dawn

Oh, and the bark... I have two crapes that have exfoliating bark. So cool.

I have had SO MANY people ask me what my tree shaped crapes are because they don't recogize the bark in the winter. I think it really adds to the winter look of my yard. Not much else to look at.

Just wanted to add the bark option because no one else had mentioned it.

Here in Texas we have a white-blooming one that is ONLY in a tree form. I've planted one in my yard and it grew to about 20 feet! But then I may be wrong...haha The word 'Natchez' comes to mind...?

This message was edited Jul 28, 2010 10:26 AM

Yes that is probably a Natchez, fast growing and on the big side.

Here's pruned like a shrub.

Exact same ones pruned a trees. Only difference is where and how much you prune off. The shrub gets topped every year.

Here's a Natchez, maybe 5 years old. These tend to be one or two trunks while others put out a bunch of trunks.

Closer look at the bark on the Natchez. When they get older the bark peels off leaving a smooth finish.

Nice photographs. The exfoliating bark of "Natchez" offers that mahogany look. It's nice. I hope the gardener in PA can keep them alive - I don't really know anything about the zone. I have friends in southern Indiana, where we grew up, who now have crapemyrtles in their gardens. It's truly one of the great plants in the South.

They'll generally survive in zone 6, but most winters they'll die back to the ground and have to resprout from the base in the spring. So even the ones that would normally grow more like trees will be shrubs, and you also won't likely get to enjoy the peeling bark effect the way you would growing it in a warm climate where it doesn't die back.

Oh...this pic of the Natchez' bark just made me decide to plant one where I just took out a tree with red berries!! tHANKS!

In Penn., a Crape Myrtle tree? I'd forget it! A bush only I'm afraid, it'll die-back, even 'Dynamite' it says -10F I think, but its closer to 0°F, Lowes numbers are deceiving..lol. I planted 'Dynamite' and 'Acoma'. I got them all at Lowes here, but I think its a ruse they are grown somewhere southerly, they're only after your $19.99. Okay, I'm an alarmist maybe, heres my 'Dynamite'. - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7961735
Heres the web-address of that thread - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1092303/
Will

You're not an alarmist--it's been mentioned a few times already on this thread that they'll die back in zone 6. It would be nice if plant tags would be more specific and tell you that things are just root hardy and the top will die back in certain zones, but unfortunately they don't generally tell you that.

It's to bad they aren't ever greens, those Natchez ones make nice shade trees. Nice canopy, tall enough to stand under them and they don't get huge. Relatively speaking. 4 Natchez planted close enough together will give you a big shaded "room" during the summer.

Holy Cow !
I haven't checked in for a few days. This is wonderful !!!!
Thank you to ALL who have chimed in with your pictures and input.
That link to the chart is great Delightful_Dawn...Thank you soo much for posting that.
And the pics of your bark shedding one is also great CoreHHI. I love the different things so that has caught my interest.
As far as weather or not they end up to be bush or tree.....I am just gonna have to try one to see. The red Dynamite one is one I really want to try. I have just (this year) started to see them around here. That doesn't mean that they haven't existed but, the RED is what I have noticed. Pink isn't my favorite so they could have been here for several years LOL, and I just pawned it off as another pink bush. I will get one but maybe not till next year. I'll do some more research (with all this info) and decide where the best spot will be. I hesitate to get it this year because it has been soo dry here this year. Oh yeah I say that but , the next time I get over to my local place I'll probably bring one home.
You folks are awsome !
Thank you all again
Willit
(Deb)

I've found crepe myrtles to be surprisingly hardy here in St Louis.
I expected them to perform as die-back shrubs when I first tried them.
In fact, I coppiced them to the ground each spring on that assumption.
But out of sheer laziness, I left them alone to do their thing and have been pleasantly surprised.
Here's a shot of one of mine.
The photo is supposed to be of the Japanese white pine tree in the foreground,
so the crepe myrtle is in the background.
You can see it's 10-15ft tall, at least.
I have several.

I'm definitely a fan of the beautiful exfoliating bark patterns.
This one is supposed to have particularly nice bark.
It's called 'Townhouse'.
Unfortunately, the deer love to rub it, so I have had to protect it with plastic fencing.

Our typical winters have many nights in the 0-10F range; rarely lower.
We had a somewhat colder winter this last year,
and one of my crepe myrtles looked like it might have been killed back to the roots.
But it was just slower to leaf out along the stems and now looks fine.

Weerobin,
Thanks for your input and you are in my zone.
I do think they must do okay too based on the ones that I've been seeing. I can tell that they are not 1st year growth plants.
Your 1st pic is great.
Thanks

Weer...is the 'Townhouse' a crape m? If so, what color blooms does it have?

Yes, it's a crape myrtle, lagerstroemia faurei Townhouse. White blooms.

Edited to correct my spelling. I guess it's a crape myrtle, not a crepe myrtle!

This message was edited Jul 31, 2010 8:53 AM

If Resin was here, he'd inveigh for Crapemyrtle (one word).

I have a dynamite, and it did take forever to come back this spring and I thought it was dead, but it did finally.
Much of the old wood sprouted.
It has grown very rapidly, I bought it at lowes for $7 about 3 years ago, and it was maybe 12 inches tall, now 6 feet.

It is REALLY red, not pinkish, red.

There is a variety of CM here in Texas that is "A&M Red"...(not sure that's the exact name) but it's a deep burgundy... obviously the A&M color! I love it...anyone had any luck with that one?

I have seen a very deep red here in my area also. Of coarse I don't know the name of it. I have only seen Dynamite and Siren Red at the local places. But, what I've seen looks darker.
Are there yellow Crapemyrtles ?

No, there aren't any yellow ones. They come in white and shades of lavender, pink, and red.

My 'red' one isn't a very red red.

Yeah, a lot of the red ones are more pinky red. There are a couple that I've seen that I'd call really red, but a lot of them are more on the pinky side.

I was really hoping there would be a yellow.
Oh well, I will love the red.
I do like the darker shades of purple and I have been seeing darker (like Fushia I guess ) pink ones that I actually like also.