Crape myrtles bring cool color to summer

I find it impossible to choose which crape myrtle color is my favorite. It seems to come down to which one I'm looking at.

Crape myrtles are the flowering trees you see seemingly everywhere right now. They are especially gorgeous this year, so much so I wanted to learn more about them and sought out an expert, George Barrett of the Barrett Tree Co.

Mr. Barrett agrees the crape myrtles are blooming fabulously this year. He is one of the nurserymen across the country who grow cultivars of crape myrtles for the National Arboretum to gauge how well they do under different conditions. By the time we see the beauties in the nurseries or big box stores, a variety has probably been studied about 20 years, Mr. Barrett said.

The great thing about a crape myrtle is how tough it is, Mr. Barrett said. You can ignore it, withhold water, even practice crape murder, "and it just keeps on going," he said.

About the only thing that will hurt it is shade.

Crape murder, the severe pruning that creates ugly knobs that spout multiple thin shoots, doesn't bother Mr. Barrett as much as you might expect. That's because, if he was a betting man, his money would be on the tree.

He contends that eventually the gardener will tire of the hard work of cutting a crape myrtle back every year and the tree will resume its natural shape and size.

"See, it wins. It beats the people every time, just about," he said.

Crape myrtles have been in the South since around 1750, according to a book by David Byers, Crapemyrtle, A Grower's Thoughts.

They have been in Augusta many decades. Mr. Barrett estimated the crape myrtles in front of St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Reynolds Street have been there as long as the church has. (The present building was built in 1919.)

The ones with American Indian tribal names were cultivated in the United States. They are also resistant to powdery mildew. Depending on the variety, they grow from about 3 to 20 feet tall.

Crape myrtles are prized not just for their summer flowers. The bark is beautiful, too. Mr. Barrett showed me the exfoliating bark of the Fantasy crape myrtle. Way too cool. The underlying bark is a rich cinnamon color.

The bark is smooth as kitten fur. (Which brings up bad-cat issues -- cats love to scratch the bark of crape myrtles, Mr. Barrett said. That's bad because it can introduce pathogens.)

You can plant these beauties any time of the year, Mr. Barrett said. Pick a site that gets six to seven hours of sun daily.

Dig a hole that's much wider than the container the crape myrtle has been living in, but make sure the hole is no deeper than the top of the root ball.

This time of the year you will need to water young crape myrtles, Mr. Barrett said. If you're not sure when to water, let the leaves be your guide. When they are dull, they need hydrating, when shiny, the plant's good.

Mulching is important, but don't pile it up to the trunk like you're making a mulch volcano. That will kill the tree. Leave 6 inches from the trunk before adding mulch. Place mulch 3 to 5 inches deep in a circle that extends out to nearly the drip line of the tree (the outer most branch tips.), Mr. Barrett said.

Remember to break up the root ball if it seems pot-bound. Mr. Barrett said it's good to cut a slit in the sides about 1/2-inch deep. New roots will grow outward from these cuts.

Propagating crape myrtles is easy, Mr. Barrett said. Take soft wood cuttings in mid-June and root in sand. (Take 6- to 8-inch cuttings from the new growth.)

Crape myrtles, besides being tough as nails, are also fast growers. They will flower in a year's time, Mr. Barrett said.

What more could we ask for?

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.

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