Crapemyrtles

God gives us Texans certain things to endure the heat of the Texas summers. Ice tea, Bluebell ice cream, and stately shade trees come to mind. And as we enjoy these things, we can marvel at the bravery of the crapemyrtle. How dare those trees thumb their blossoms at the ubiquitous summer heat! It has been said that crapemyrtles make big blotches of color out of the hot sunshine. We have enough of that to go around!

Crapemyrtles are grown for their very showy blooms appearing from mid-spring to late summer, depending on the variety. Many have an exfoliating bark that gives them an interesting winter look. Sometimes called the 'Lilac of the South', crapemyrtles will show blossoms for between 75 and 100 days. You can find cultivars from 18 inches to 45 feet tall. They are long lived and require very little care or water once established. They will grow in any soil. They are virtually free of insect and disease problems with the only major problem being the formation of powdery mildew on some select varieties. Crapemyrtles with American Indian tribe names are resistant to this mildew. Oftentimes the only ornamental plant you will find growing at abandoned homesites will be the crapemyrtle, doing just fine on it's own. So if you want an easy to grow, long blooming shrub or tree, you can find a crapemyrtle to fit any landscape situation. Just choose your size.

· Up to 5 feet - Centennial is a bright purple flowering variety that will grow 4x4 feet. Little Chief is dwarf variety, growing just 18 inches tall, that comes in many different colors. Acoma grows a little taller than five feet, with a 'weeping' habit, growing wider than tall. White blooms, with a light gray, exfoliating trunk.

· 5 to 10 feet - Tonto has a beautiful deep red flower and is highly mildew resistance. Use it for low hedges or screens. Centennial Spirit has bright red 'torch like' blooms that do not fade with age. It is best grown as a multi-trunk tree. Hopi has a low-shrubby habit growing 2-3 times as wide as it is tall. Re-blooming pink flowers for about 100 days. Exfoliating bark and orange-red fall color. Use in planters, hedges, or mass plantings.

· 10 to 20 feet - Lipan has purplish-lavender flowers born on an upright, broad growth habit. An extra special characteristic is that it has white bark that begins to show as the tree exfoliates in late summer. Osage has an open and rounded shape and is a heavy bloomer with light pink blooms that last from June into September. Catawba grows to about 12 feet and has dark violet-purple flowers. Outstanding red-orange fall color makes this a choice specimen.

· Over 20 feet - Natchez has pure white blooms that can be one foot long with a bark that exfoliates, showing a cinnamon brown trunk year round. Tuscarora has dark-coral blooms and a tall broad-crowned habit. New leaves in spring are red-tinged with fall color being orange to red. Bashams Party Pink is a faster growing variety that can be 50 feet tall and 35 feet wide. Pink blooms are 12 inches long. Fall color is orange to red to yellow. Fantasy White is a variety that can grow to 45 tall very quickly. Almost a shade tree!

All crapemyrtles must be grown in full sun. Once established they can live with little water but they do appreciate a little help in extreme drought. Top dress with compost, rock phosphate, and greensand in the fall for stronger blooms the following year. Never commit 'crapemurder'. That is when you top the large upright branches of a crapemyrtle to reduce its height. Prune only pencil size or smaller branches after blooming.