In a moment of weakness I bought 4 Black Diamond Crepe Myrtle. I love the black leaves and red to light pink flowers. I already have 2 established CMs but they've been there so long I don't remember how I established them. My questions are as follows but feel free to add any advise.
1) is this a good time to plant them and what's the best way to overwinter them their first year?
2) I don't want them to get too tall, I would like to keep them the size of shrubs so the flowers can be easily seen. What's the best way to accomplish this?
3) I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to dig holes for them in ground that is solid rock! But they were so pretty I guess I didn't think about that. I may put them in some established beds but I'd really like to keep them together, I think the different color flowers on the dark foliage would be pretty altogether.
Crepe Myrtle in Tx
I wrote an article about crepes last year or the year before--you could find it in the dg article database. the only thing i remember clearly at the moment is the size part. it's best to learn how large the tree is going to be and plant accordingly. people often plant cms too near buildings and ther trees and then are uncomfortable with the size of it. i don't recall your particular cultivar, though. also i think the missouri botanical garden has really good info on their website.
I bought 5 crepe myrtles the same size and variety in 1992. I put 3 by the curb of my house, centered between street and side walk about 10 feet apart. And 2 a few feet off the front of my house.
Best time to plant: now thru december, I favor before a rain (so much for planting by the moon)
And controlling size?
The ones by the curb got watered less. In about 5 years the 2 by the house were 15 feet tall, the 3 by the curb were maybe 6 feet tall. Today the ones by the house are long gone and the ones at the curb are still alive and maybe 10 to 12 feet tall
Hope that helps.
The notion of controlling size is quite misdirected and will cause you undue aggravation and work. If plant is meant to grow 20 ft, then the odds are high you will be trimming constantly and eventually deforming the plant. If you follow carrie's suggestion to research size at maturity then you will be able to make good decisions about planting location.
It is true that the data is not gospel, as amount of irrigation or size of container or amount of light will affect CMs optimal size but it gives a general idea about what to expect.
I think the dark foliage CMs are considered medium sized.
http://www.nurserymag.com/crape-myrtle-black-diamond.aspx
The above link says it grows 10-12 ft, so that is medium. I have one of mine planted in less than full sun, so less of a chance it will get that tall, and I took that into consideration when planting.
Hope this helps illustrate how information is power, even when planting. No need to create extra work trimming an ill-placed tree or shrub or whatever
Carrie-these are a new type. But I will look at your article, the more info the better.
Vossner-the links arent working, a whole other issue. Lol But I have looked at the link that came with the plants, it was on the tag that came with the plants. Ive read that they are shrubs that can be pruned into trees. The tags say that they are shrubs and if cut back to 4" every winter they will grow into 3' to 4' shrub. I just doesn't know if I should trim them the first year. Something tells me a couple years of trimming will be about all for me. Lol. I figured out a place to plant them that is a empty raised bed so the soil isn't hard as a rock, there is water near, and if they grow tall it won't really matter. I would really like them to stay a sprawling shrub.
Let's try this
http://www.nurserymag.com/crape-myrtle-black-diamond.aspx
Hmmm don't know what is wrong, it worked when I first copy pasted, and as you say not now
Links havent been working- pix come n go. The dark red ones are smaller than the originals, they bush when forced to, like pinching basils, these arent as hardy as th older ones either, but wait for roots to establish before cutting to the ground, and yeah, the rocks and limestone ground keel them small as well
I guess I'll just plant them and see what happens. It's not a huge deal if they get big. My main concern at the time was " how am I going to dig holes this big? But I can put them in a raised bed if need be. I want to try and keep them together I think that will make the colors more spectacular.
You can google Black Diamond Crepe Myrtles to see what they look like. I couldn't find them in DGPFs.
It is in the PF but the nomenclature is messed up a little bit
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/20688
When I bought it it wasn't black diamond series, it was something else but def the same plant
Sigh, there are still problems pasting links but enter
Laegestromia ebony flame and you'll see it
Thank you. I'll check it out.