Crepe Myrtles

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shamrokpwr Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) Jul 07, 2004

We retired to Augusta Ga. in '01. Shortly thereafter, we purchased three crepe myrtles, as we greatly admired those we saw on our early morning walks. They are planted across the front of our house, approximately 15' in from the curb. They are pretty much in sunlight all day, and we have lawn sprinklers. I have fertilized them equally, pruned moderately in winter, taking off bleeders, and cross branches, as advised by a local nursery. Now the problem. The one in the middle is growing splendidly, height about 25'. The one to the left (looking in from the street) about 20', and the one on the right, I will be generous, and say about 15'. I am stumped as to why this is. I purchased them at the same time, from the same nursery, and planted them on the same day.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Jul 10, 2004

Are they (for sure) the same cultivar? (There are hundreds of cultivars, some that look quite similar, but unless they are exactly the same, that may explain the differences in growth.

Another possible cause could be slightly different soil conditions (pH, soil texture, fertility, soil moisture) Even within a few feet of one another, the roots may be in soil that is dissimilar enough to cause growth differences.

A third factor may be sun/shade and exposure to the wind. Depending on where your prevailing winds are, and the angle of the sun, relative to these three plants, those growing more rapidly may be benefiting from a little protection from wind, and a little more (or maybe less) sun than the "runt of the litter" :o)

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art_n_garden Colorado Springs, CO(Zone 6a) Jul 10, 2004

Another thing I've noticed that effect Crepe Myrtles is how many suckers/ main stems are allowed to grow . Are you growing them as standards (one main stem, like a tree) or like a multiple trunked tree? If they dont have exactly the same amount of energy reserved for vertical growth, then they can differ as much as 10' like yours.

Crepe's are all over Houston, which is where I grew up, in city landscaping and I noticed that very rarely are all trees in groupings exactly the same height and shape-- the advice I gave you above is just something I surmised from observation, Terry's thoughts could be just as likely.

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