I'm a northeasterner now gardening in central NC & adapting

Can anyone tell me when to expect my Crepe Myrtles to produce buds?

I've also had bad luck with Delphiniums and have been told they don't do well in this area. I've met other gardeners who have also had problems; yet they sell Delphiniums in the nurseries here. My Delphiniums back home were quite the show and returned year after year -- huge plants.
Just planted 4 new rather short Delphiniums I picked up at Lowes and decided this year not to put them in normally suggested sunlight. There's been more rain lately and they seem to be doing a lot better than last year. Any advice?

I feel for you, wienerschnitzel - I won't waste your time by pretending to give you advice specific to your region...that should come from a local gardener in NC and I'll bet they'll be a huge help to you.

I do have a comment about being an experienced gardener in a new area, though - I live in central Texas and it's a tough gardening area. So many new folks move in - many of them accomplished gardeners - and yet they've never met the challenges of a Texas summer. I HATE to see them shopping for plants at the big box stores because so many of those plants are greenhouse grown and regional, but not really specifically adapted to THIS region. I'd suggest that you find a local nursery that specializes in native and adapted plants just for your area and shop there for a year or two, then take that knowledge to the big boxes later on after you've got some good local experience under your belt.

One example of what I'm talking about - the local Home Depot had a gorgeous display of azaleas outside the main entrance this year. We have highly alkaline soil and highly alkaline water. Sigh....

BTW - I've had the pleasure of visiting your area of the country and it's absolutely beautiful. I envy you the opportunity to live and garden in such a lovely area. Good luck in your new home!

Thanks mocatmom, I think that's exactly what's happening but the Delphiniums seem to be doing well this year so far. We've been having an rainy spring and I bet that's the ticket. It's usually quite dry in this area and a wet, cool spring is natural to the northeast. We'll see if I can get these puppies to survive and return.

On the other note, I read that these beautiful Crepe Myrtles are a native of Texas. Can you tell me when to expect them to produce buds. So far nothing. I know they leaf out late but I really thought that they would be budding by now.

Schnitz: My crepe which is shaded in the afternoon has yet to set buds however I have several neighbors that have thiers in full sun and they are setting now. My father who lives just across the mountains from you in Knoxville has a young crepe that is currently budding. I attribute the late setting on mine to the shade it gets in the afternoon. Although it is healthy in every other respect to include its near 20ft heighth and always putting on a very nice flower show a little behind most. As for the delphinium this is my first attempt with them and hope to see them regularly from here on out. I got mine at HD and from every thing I have read the compact are supposed to be well suited for us. I believe you are zone 7b as am I. I hope someone else can give us some hands on advice about the delphinium. Welcome to what I believe is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever lived in. Dad was Navy so I have lived all over.

It should be any time now. Mine haven't set buds yet. But they will very soon and be blooming before the end of June.

I sure hope you get some good advice. I'd like to know the secret! The nurseries keep selling because they know there is a market for all us 'hope springs eternal-s'!! Seriously, I have tried every year with no luck for return. I am sure there is someone out there that can and has grown them successfully.

Actually, they originated in Asia or India but it might as well be Texas with all the varieties planted around here. Do you know what variety of crepe you've got, Wienerschnitzel? Depending on the variety, they bloom anywhere from about 70 to 120 days and the earliest any of them start to bloom is June in the far south. Some of the longest blooming varieties, (and most disease resistant), are the hybrid Indian Tribe series, with Natchez, Sioux and Muskogee having some of the longest bloom periods. You might look for those varieties if you get a chance. In NC, I'll bet it might be early July before you see any blooms.

Opps - I was still talking about delphiniums!

The only crepe myrtle I have planted are the dwarfs

My crepes just started setting buds a week or so ago. I have one lavender that always sets its buds a couple of weeks later than all the dark pinks. Mocatmom is correct that bud set will depend on which varieties you have. You're farther north than me so there's no need to worry yet--your crepes just need more time.

NL1950 - I wonder if your lavender one is a 'Lipan' crepe? Mine sets late and has one of the shorter bloom periods, but the tree itself is absolutely beautiful with a lovely vase shape and pretty bark.

Hmmm, I really don't know mocatmom. I have all my tags but no time to dig through them right now. I'm running around in circles trying to get things ready to take hubby in for total knee replacement tomorrow. I will try to remember to look that up when we get back home. Mine is planted right off a corner of our front porch where I can fully enjoy it while it's in bloom--it really is beautiful. Wish I'd bought more.

Thank you all for responding.

I'll be patient with the crepe myrtles. I was convinced it bloomed in July but my husband thinks we lost blooms due to a frost and that all the myrtles are behind schedule so I checked.

As to delphiniums. Seems like nobody has any luck with these and I'm wondering why?

Do they need a cold winter over? (Last winter was colder than usual)

Is the sun too strong in the south? (If so, I've planted them in partial shade this time as an experiment).

Do they need a wetter climate? While we've had a lot of rain this spring, we have had a lot of droughts plus there is normally not a great deal of rain in the area over the summer. It's a strange combination of dry and humid -- something I can't get my head around. Perhaps the normal dryness can't be made up for by watering and last year the city stopped all watering due to lack of rain. That's pretty much the exact opposite of the northeast where my delphiniums were the neighborhood show.

I'm wondering why hollyhocks and foxglove seem to do fine but delphiniums do not. I 've had no luck with larkspur either, which I believe is an ancestor of the delphinium and they like it cool. Temperatures may be the issue. We always hit or exceed 100 for some time - sometimes a long time - in the summer months. Yuck.

I have to agree with the high teps. and humidity, YUCK. Sometimes the air gets so thick you can hardley breathe. The popcorn type thunder showers tend to make it worse, the humidity anyway. But this area during spring and fall are so beautiful with all the variety of color and plant life, to me,it is worth a couple months of misery a year. Good luck with the delphinium as I am trying for the first time in part shade with rich soil. Near a several year old wood pile next to a year old pine log.

I can't speak to delphiniums since they just don't thrive for us here in Texas. Every once and awhile you'll find a gardener successfully growing them in their garden here, but it's not the norm.

Annual Larkspurs do very well here, but perform best when seeded in the early fall for spring blooms. You are much cooler there, but I wonder when you're sowing the seeds and whether it might be worth experimenting with fall sowing if you're not already doing that. Hopefully someone from your region will chime in...Anne