Crepe myrtles

We don't see them hardly at all here in the NW, so from I can see here at DG, some are trees and some are shrubs. Jody posted in photos all kinds of beautiful purple ones. I think they were shrubs. Tell me about them. Are they evergreen or deciduous? When do they bloom? The tree ones I have seen here are late like September bloomers, what I see they are gorgeous. Oregon has wonderful azaleas and rhodies but if these things blooms late it seems they would be great color now. Do they need warm nights? Here where I am it is always 60 degrees or less at night in the summer.How are they propogated; seeds, cuttings? jcf sent me some white seed, I have a few coming up.

Where are you located? Battle Ground, WA here, close to Portland, Or. I have a crepe myrtle that I just planted in one of my front beds that I bought several weeks ago at Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island. They had several different types. Ours has greenish-purple leaves, and is blooming almost fuscia colored blooms. It's gorgeous!

I am 40 south of Portland down the I-5 corridor.So you are saying they can do here well? Is yours blooming now? Why don't we see more here in the NW?

As far as I know, they will do well here. Like I said, we just planted ours and it is looking wonderful. We got it at Cistus on Sauvie Island. But my wife also saw several other types at a little nursery here in Battle Ground a couple of days ago, one with flowers the color of Bubble Gum! There are specimens of them that have been around here for decades - it's a very old plant! BTW: we loved your Marionberries! And Laura says "hi!". How's that for a backward introduction??

It has taken me a bit to put the parts of the puzzle together. So Linda W. is your mother in law. Nice to meet you. You will have to come get some of those berries with Linda.Joann

No, Linda W. is the mother of a Laura, who works for me. She's a great gal, and we were the beneficiaries of some berries. She and her hub were over today, and she said that her mother has a crepe myrtle in her yard! Check if out. BTW: I went to the nursery today to get an umbrella pine they had (a real beauty), and saw several shrub crepe myrtles. They had totally bubble-gum pink flowers - filled with them - and grew to be 4-5' high, in a sort of vase shape. So my guess is that if you tried Al's in Woodburn, you would find something.

Thank you for your tip about Al's and a little more explanation of the puzzle.

Lenjo, these come as miniatures all the way up to over 30 feet tall!! you need to be careful to pick a size that fits your yard. I am sure your nursery can special order one for you. I picked one that is too large for my front garden and even though I prune it in November as it is going dormant, to just a few feet tall, it grows every summer to at leat a 14 foot shrub. I also have a standard that is the same color planted in the same garden and it has just taken off also!
The newer hybrids are mildew resistant. Make sure you get a newer one. Some of the colors are amazing! I just love them. HD has them this week, a five gallon can for $16.99.......a standard. I paid $39 at a nursery for a Centennial Spirit standard. I have about 7 looking for a place to live in my yard. I have bought ones that will grow only a foot and some that will grow to 4 feet as well as one that will go 30 feet.

They are deciduous and some bloom earlier than others. some rebloom. They say they bloom 2/3s of the year, but I have never seen them bloom before August. Right now I see them in all colors all over. They are the hottest tree beig planted right now.
I posted a pic of my bush last night.
http://davesgarden.com/s/332379.html

here look at this link. I printed this out and bring it to the nurseries with me.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/trees/crape_myrtle_varieties.html

If anyone is interested, there is a mail order place here in FL that specializes in these. I have ordered from them before and their plants are in excellent condition and the prices are reasonable.

do they have an online catalogue?
thanks

Here is the link to the Crape Myrtle site. Yes they have an on-line catelog as well. I ordered the shrubs and they had blooms on them 2 weeks after planting. Nice healthy plants.!!


http://www.crapemyrtles.com/

Opps! Sorry about that.

This message was edited Saturday, Aug 24th 9:20 PM

LOL Dee, you forgot the link!