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jimtnc

Crapes

jimtnc
15 years ago

What is the better place around the Raleigh area to buy crape myrtles this time of summer. Looking for several colors in the upright shrub form (6-8') much like the one in this link. I got 2 last year from Lowes that are looking very nice and I think they are centennial spirits, but didn't know if Lowes/HD still had stock.

Here is a link that might be useful: push here

Comments (16)

  • spazzycat_1
    15 years ago

    I have L. 'Centennial Spirit' in my garden, and it's 15-20', so it's more a tree form. I would research which are the mildew-resistant cultivars and try to find those. I was at Lowe's last night and they certainly had tons of crape myrtles, but I wasn't shopping for them so I didn't pay much attention to which cultivars they had. Another smaller crape myrtle that has done very well for me is L. 'Victor', topping out at 5'. It's the same watermelon color as 'Centennial Spirit', and bloom times pretty much sync up.

  • ncgardner
    15 years ago

    Aren't you near Raleigh? The Farmers Market has several local people with a nice variety of crapes. Try Broadwells.

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    spazzycat_1 - that was my first inclination...to go there and browse around, but often they don't have the same named cultivars to compare.

    Same thing with Broadwells. I buy there alot, but when I'm looking for a certain size/color/growth habit, etc, for a particular spot it's hard for me (not knowing more about trees/shrubs) to tell which is which when they don't have the same named ones either.

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Well, Lowes and HD in Garner are competely sold out until the first week in August. Has Everyone gone crape crazy??

  • Dibbit
    15 years ago

    They are in bloom right now, and many people don't THINK about buying a plant/tree/shrub until it IS in bloom....

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Anyway, I haven't found what I am looking for, but I have a Muskogee crape that is absolutely stunning. It's well shaped with 3 trunks about 16' tall with no branching until about 5' up. It's in full bloom and looks very pretty and healthy.

    I'd like another similar to this one with a different color flower (maybe white) and on the tall to almost tall side that also didn't take up much space (maybe a 16' or so wide branching) to create some dappled shade for a hotspot lawn area. It doesn't have to be quite as tall (15-20'), but I wouldn't mind. Any recommendations from you pro's??

  • lylesgardens
    15 years ago

    I can recommend the variety of crape named "Catawba" it's a smaller compact tree- I think it tops out at around 8-15 feet and seems globular in form with light lavendar colored blooms. I recently got my best friend one for her front yard and it was the only one left at the nursery. They may be a little harder to find. The 3 foot specimen I got her was nearly perfect in form with many many blooms.

    Lyle

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Yeah, those are nice too, but I'm sorta kinda looking for the taller, thinner look for a specific spot in my backyard much like the Muskogee growth habit, or something similar but not quite as tall. Rather have it growing up than out, per se.

  • lylesgardens
    15 years ago

    the varieties that spring to mind right now that would be upright would first be the centennial spirit. That is probably the most common, and pretty much every place sells those.

    There are others, that are harder to find such as Choctaw, Dynamite, Lipan, Miami, Natchez ( the latter being quite broad across the top like muskogee would be) Sioux, and Tuscarora. All of these fall into the taller 15-20 feet + range. The variety Prairie Lace is an upright but short, maybe 5-10 feet.

    The Natchez has the white flowers. I think the prettiest of all of these in terms of flower bloom is probably the Sioux because the pink coloration is very very intense.

    Lyle

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Yeah, I like the Sioux too...also the Royal Velvet looks impressive for another spot I may have designated.

    But, I think I'm zeroing in on the Byers white or Natchez for the back and Arapaho red for the front...maybe also the Royal Velvet for somewhere on the side. Now to find them, and by their given name, not some other...like Lowes names them "Purple", "Dark Red", etc. That will leave my comparison trail cold as can be.

    I wanted Dynamite for the front (and still may), but it looks like it gets pretty full and wide as well as tall after 4-6 years. I'll only have 20-30' to work with.

  • dellare
    15 years ago

    There's a place in Sanford that has a good variety of named crepes. I am pretty sure they have the arapaho red. I myself got the dynamite. They are a wholesale and retail mom and pop kind of place. I purchased a small one about three feet high for 12 dollars. They have the trees, hummm about six feet tall maybe for I think 32 dollars and then another group half that size that were in the 20 dollar range. Its a great place. I check to see if they have what I am looking for before I go anywhere else. Their camellias are similarly priced. The place is called Watson's Nursery and is on Rice Road in Sanford. Adele

  • DYH
    15 years ago

    It may be too far for you to drive past Asheboro to Farmer, but Toms Creek Nursery grows great trees and shrubs. I've not been in awhile, but because they are family run like a farm market(they grow the trees), I think you don't have to pay sales tax like retail places, so that's a 7% discount.

    I started buying from them about 30 years ago and they are still expanding.

    They have an online database that lists a lot of the crape myrtles that they grow.

    Cameron

    Here is a link that might be useful: Toms Creek Nursery in Farmer

  • lylesgardens
    15 years ago

    I'm not familiar with Raleigh at all except on how to get there, but there is a great nursery in Davidson, NC called Turtle Creek Nursery. Might be worth the trip? They have a website, and a price list of everything they have, good selections of azaleas, trees and shrubs.

    Lyle

    www.turtlecreeknursery.com

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for all the great information, folks. All good suggestions. I'm gonna have to jot down all these places for future reference.

    I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing to get a 6' crape instead of a 10-12' one, since some of them grow about 3-5' a year. That's making up time in a hurry.

    I'm told crapes are easily pruned into tree forms, but when would be a good time to begin the process, like cutting down from 10-12 small trunks to 4-5? My Muskogee has a 3-trunk form and the branching doesn't begin until it reaches about 5'. REally look clean and stately. That's what I would like to do with the others if they possess the original workable pruning form to begin with.

  • tamelask
    15 years ago

    If you do that, i'd consider doing it in the winter when it's dormant. The traditional mantra is summer pruning slows a tree down, winter stimulates it, but i've found suckers and watersprouts seem worse if you summer prune, esp with crapes. I would only take out maybe a third of the excess stems each year til you whittle it down- it will be less likely to throw up new suckery growth to compensate (which would negate the whole point).

    We had a similar thing happen when fran took down a huge old redbud (30' and a 9-10" trunk)and it suckered up like an octopus. Took about 3 years to whittle it back down to 3 trunks, and now it looks nice again.

  • jimtnc
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Okay, thanks Tammy. I think winter is probably the best time too. I can see more of what I'm doing.