Doesn't look like anyone else is growing them....
I want to but think I'm just a little too cold here to carry them through the winter, even with the dieback. But as is my nature, unless I personally kill it a few times myself.... well you know how it goes.
So this summer I'm trying a few cuttings of the hardier types like Natchez.
I'm not too thrilled with the dwarf types. I really like the bigger clusters the taller ones produce..... Ahhhh, I remember my Texas days and the summer long color they give.
How about posting photos when they bloom? I've seen the dwarfs as container plants.... VERY impressive.
Good luck, this is crape myrtle weather we are having.

Kato:

I will post them in a couple of months. I think they went into full bloom fairly late last year. My Chickasaws are really sending up new foliage quickly and are nearly as big as they were when I bought them last July. I'm looking forward to them blooming again. They are a very nice plant.

I transplanted a Mountain Laurel from direct sunlight this past weekend and went to a local nursery to check out plants for the full sun spot. I wanted something other than plain green and saw Crape Myrtle "Pink Velour". Today, I checked here to see how larger Crape Myrtles do in southern PA. Posters have reported success with it. So, I went out and bought one. Its new foliage starts as red (reportedly the brightest red on a Crape) and then turns a purple-green. It is vase-shaped and then blooms in the Summer in bright pink.

I'm hoping it does not die back this Winter. Its going to be a close call.

I have a Crape Myrtle.Don't know what kind since I moved from my home in town to the country,I brought it with me.I don't have a clue as to what kind it is but it has bloomed for me here the past 4 summers and is really beautiful.It has the dark,shiny green leaves(that the JB's love)and the most lovely pink flowers that look so delicate.It gets about 5 feet tall with the branches cascading so nicely and is about the same in width.I do cut it back in early Spring.And,I do not use any kind of protection for it in the Winter.And,I do get a lot of cold,windy days where I live but it has survived and gets a little larger and more pretty each season.I will take pictures of it when it flowers and put it on the forum..........Koke

I've noticed that the J. Beetles do not bother with the Chickasaws' leaves. The leaves are a little bigger than a beetle.

Well,my Crape Myrtle is starting to bloom and I've been very diligent when the JB's were trying to destroy it. But, I believe I won! When it is in full bloom,I will post a picture,it really is so beautiful and delicate looking......Koke

I was just outside and noticed that my Chickasaws are beginning to sport the little beads that hold the flowers. I looked at the Pink Velour and it seems that it may be also.

I will add a cell phone photo here of the Chickasaw flowers when they bloom.

Well,Ches,How are your Crapes doing? MY Pink Velour is starting to bloom.I check daily for JB's even though I haven't seen any in a long time(Thank Goodness!. I am really paranoid when it comes to my Crape so if I even see 1 of those devil bugs,it gets either sprayed or crunched(if I have my gardening gloves on!).They actually scare me! I may have to take a few different shots of the Crape because I have a white Obedient plant that is also starting to bloom and its right in front of the Crape.I should be able to get a shot from the back or maybe off on an angle...Update soon with pictures.......Koke

koke:

It takes a while for the little buds to bloom. I think within the next 2 weeks. Myhe Pink Velour is new and not blooming yet. I went to the nursery where I bought the Crape Myrtles today and they had deveral Crape types in bloom.

The devil beetles are worse than ever here. I now am sacrificing my rose blooms in an attempt to keep the devil beetles off of the foliage. I probably have 20 devil beetles on any rose bloom that is still out there.

They are not on my Pink Velour anymore.

Tonight, I have to do battle with a yellow jacket hive. I have been working in one area of my gardens and noticed yellow jackets checking me out. Today, I looked around and found out why. There was a huge hive within feet of where I was working. I am going to give them a taste of Ortho-In-A-Can tonight. I will find out how fast I can still run.

My 'Tonto' is in full bloom, it's really lovely

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Paula, it's very mean of you to post that picture. All I can say is WOW!
Tonto is the one I want. A few years back I got a different lighter color but I can't remember the name, it hasn't grown enough to bloom the last three years -it's even in another garden a full zone warmer!

For color like that I would baby it over the winter.

lol,, Kato, you are welcome to all the seeds you want from it - or cuttings if you'd rather. I have another smaller crepe started from seed, but I don't know what kind it is. I took the seeds from the one growing at my bank branch

Thanks for the offer Paula. I have to see how my Natchez cuttings do first.... most appear to be dying, two look ok. I hope I get something to root!

WOW and WOW !!!!! Paula,great picture,I am very jealous! I hope to post a picture of my Pink Velour soon.Tonight,I found the Devil Beetles all over it! Just when I thought they left town! Darn Devil Beetles! I guess you can never let your guard down. Again,WOW !!!..........Koke

Koke:

I checked my Pink Velour tonight and it is free of devil beetles. However there is new growth so I am going to watch it.

Unfortunately, the devils are swallowing my roses.

maybe i'm hard headed and all that but I spray spray and spray and the only thing I have lost to demon bugs was a single holleyhock and it is recovering.

Paula that plant makes me want to run right out and get me one. looks as colorfull as azaleas in the spring

Ches......Hubby sprayed last night after I screamed about the Devil Beetles! Checked this morning and a few are just laying there dead,the rest ,I hope left for parts unknown.I just might take a picture even though its not in full bloom and post it here.
Witsend......I have hubby spray,but stupid me,thought that the devil beetles were gone. Apparently they must really like the Crapes.I checked our Weeping Cherry,which gets hit pretty hard too, and that is ok but hubby spayed it anyway ,just in case.I also bought a Red Maple Tree,not sure of its name,could be a Japanese but in any case,I have been watering it since we are not getting any rain here.There they were,I yelled to hubby to get the spray out again! I thought I was done with the devil beetles!
Paula....I see the photo and just get blown away! It is so beautiful ! Thanks for posting it........Koke

Thanks all, I have to take out my Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, that's next to my Tonto, because this year for the first time, the devils are eating the crepe, because of being drawn to the Walking Stick. Don't plant one of these if you want less JB's in your yard.

Koke:

I just checked on the Pink Velour to see if it had devil beetles. It didn't. I wasn't wearing my glasses but I think it is getting flower buds on it. Its only about 40" tall now and I guess there will not be many flowers.

I looked at the Chickasaws and noticed that one little bead flowered. I'll take a cell phone shot when they are in full bloom.

Yesterday, I planted two more Chickasaws in a new garden. Then I walked over one of the little guys with my boot. It lost some branches in the "battle of the boot" but it looks happy today. I have two more to plant this week.

My second year Chickasaws now have a spread of about 16" and should reach 24" in a future year.

I have my thoughts on a Pokomoke (another dwarf Crape) and I am keeping my eye on two that are growing at a local nursery. Pokomoke leaves are slightly bigger than the Chickasaws. I think they will grow to a 36" mound.

Paula or anyone else......I took a picture of my Crape....now how do I get it on my post? Thanks......Koke

Had Hubby figure it out....maybe. Hope this is good enough until its in full bloom.....Koke

Here is a link that might be useful:

Very nice Koke! It looks like you have not had too much damage from the devil beetles -

Let's see if chescobob posts a pic. of Chickasaw soon -

Paula:

The little Chicks are full of their little pinkish beads. I'll try to take a picture today of one with a lot of beads when I go outside and tempt a heat stroke.

After these beads, the flowers come out.

Koke:

Thanks for the photo. Now I know what my Pink Velour will strive to become.

Ches and Paula........The picture that I took wasn't that great but I wanted to show what it looked like before full bloom.If I can keep the Devil Beetles away from it,then it should look really nice.I am also going to attempt another outing to see if there are any JB's hanging around.With this heat,the JB's would be in big trouble if I found any! .......Koke

Below is my largest Chickasaw in its second year. It is 17" across and about 8" tall. The pink beads will become flowers in the near future.

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I tried to take a close-up of the beads but the cell phone camera resolution is not good and it was too bright outside. Anyway, the closeup is below.

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I'll see if it gets any better in the evening when the sun goes to bed.

These little trees can be used as perennials that bloom late in the season. They should continue blooming through October.

While I was out in the awful heat to check on my Crape,they were there! The devil beetles! There were 3 of them but not anymore! Had my gardening gloves on and I quickly grabbed them and threw them on the rocks and ooppss....stepped on them!Oh well, 3 less to worry about! My Pink Velour is about 46 inches across and about the same in height.I have a few close-ups that I took while stomping on the JB's.Try to get them on later on tonight.Must be the weather that we have been having this summer that has the JB's in a full-fledged attack mode. In the 5 yrs. that I have been living in the country,I have never seen them this bad.........Koke

They are really cute chescobob!

In anticipation of cooler weather, I bought a 'Pokomoke' Crape Myrtle.

Then I bought an Itea 'Little Henry', a Dwarf Fothergilla 'gardenii', 6 Weigela Wine & Roses, an 'Edward Goucher' Abelia, and 7 Girard Crimson azaleas.

My little "under-the-deck" plant farm now has 21 plants waiting to be planted.

Paula:

I saw a little 'Tonto' today at Groff's. It was a very nice color in person too. They had several other varieties too.

LOL, Bob you are living the dream! ...all those new plants.

I've debated buying Itea. Unless it was Clethra. I always get the two mixed up and as a result I don't buy either. I guess both are fragrant with good fall color, I'm leaning towards Clethra though.... I think... unless it's Itea I'm thinking of. I don't know.

My neighbor has an Itea. It is a short round mound (kinda like me) with white flowers and deep red Fall color. Little Henry is supposed to be 2' tall and 3' wide.

The Clethra has white flowers blooming now that are fragrant. It suckers though--so does the Dwarf Fothergilla I bought. I don't remember any colors on the Clethra though in the Fall. I have 4 or 5 of them.

I'm not sure if it is a dream or nightmare. I have 5 Edward Goucher Abelias to plant in front of the wood of one terrace and the ground is hard there. They will be about 40 feet from the woods facing any potential deer. I'll find out if deer avoid Abelias.

Then I have the front wood of a 60' terrace to cover. The ground there is a steep decline below the terrace with hard dirt. I bought the Girard Crimson azaleas to put there 10' apart. About 5' below them, and in between the Azaleas, I will plant the Wine & Roses Weigelas. The foliage will contrast and, if they bloom together, the Weigelas' pink/rose flowers should contrast with the Crimson Azalea flowers. If it doesn't work out, the bunnies, groundhogs, squirrels, and deer will be upset.

This Fall, I will have the final terrace built below these Azaleas and Weigelas and there will be flat seating areas there.

I forgot to mention an observation on my little Pokomoke Crape Myrtle. Groff's had various Crapes in side-by-side areas. The little ones (Chickasaws) were on the right, and as you went to the left, the Crapes were larger. I noticed that the devil beetles could see the Pokomokes and had eaten a little foliage. The only Crape the devils couldn't see were the Chickasaws. The Pokomoke's leaves are about twice the size of the Chickasaws.

I also passed by some pink Tamarix plants there. They were very nice and were saying "buy me, buy me" and I almost did. Then I saw a devil beetle trying to swallow it. I told the Tamarix "stay there, stay there."

Lol, I just squweeshed a couple beetles in the dahlia blooms.... It's the only bug I will hand-dispatch, just a crushing blow to the head and the important end is neutralized.

I think I want Clethra. Fragrance is a plus as is midsummer bloom. Being tall is also a plus, I prefer the plants to be all around me, not spread out at my feet. (I'm sure that's got something to do with my personality)

Bob, what will you do when eveything's planted? Go back and re-design? Or sip cold beverages while surveying your handiwork?

Kato:

I'm hoping I will be content to sip cold beverages. If I can get all the basic foundation plants in place by next Spring, I'm planning to add flowering plants like annuals. My goal is to get into maintenance mode only and leave the construction mode behind.

I am still thinking of the Tamarix.

Bob, did you purchase the Fothergilla's and rest, all at Groff's? I'm in the market for 2 more, I have one, in the plans for a re-location after finding out the present location's too alkaline. Anyway, I have plans to go to Groff's soon.

Clethra is easy to grow, wonderful fragrance, nice clear yellow fall color. You'll see every kind of bee and wasp and bug in your yard cover it when blooming. :-D Try and get 'Sixteen Candles', it doesn't flop.

I just put in a third 'Henry's Garnet', adding to the two my son gave me for Mother's Day. They're in front of my Ilex Verticillata's 'Winter Red'. I'm looking forward to this display in the autumn.

Paula:

Groff's sell annuals, perennials, and some shrubs. They do not sell common evergreens like azaleas, rhodendrons, hollies, etc. However, they do sell a lot of different deciduous shrubs. I bought the Fothergilla, the Little Henry, and the Pokomoke there. They also have three versions of Ninebark--Diablo, Summer Wine, and Coppertina. There are many other plants too and their stock looked pretty good last week

I buy the general evergreens at Britestar Garden Center. They currently have a 40 percent off sale. I took all of their remaining Girard Crimson azaleas but there are about 20 others there of different types ($12 for regular size, $6 for smaller ones). They have about 20 Rhododendrons (good size ones for about $17). There are still some hollies, Abelias too. You'll find other things too.

At Groff's you will find nice things for under $10. I bought 6 Weigelas, a Pokomoke, Little Henry, and the Fothergilla for about $80 including the tax. Groff's does not take credit cards--cash works best there but I think they might take checks.

If you want to go to both, you can use Route 1 to travel from one to the other. Britestar is only about 200 yards north of Route 1 on the right. If you want to catch both, just get back on Route 1 and go 4 miles west to Route 472. Then go north to Kirkwood and take a left. The huge farms you will see on the way to Groff's are Amish. The corn and other vegetables are flowing at the roadside stands now.

By the way, if you enjoy fine chocolate and you visit Britestar on Route 10, about 1/2 mile north of Britestar on the left side of Route 10, you will see a driveway for Neuchatel Chocolates. The chocolate is made there and they have a nice store too where you can buy the chocolates. The chocolate covered fruits are wonderful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neuchatel Chocolates

mmmmmmm. I may have to plan a road trip!

Thanks for that Bob, I don't carry my checkbook around normally. I'll have to call ahead to make sure. It'll be hard to resist chocolate...but homemade! Yes, at least a sampling is in order!

While I was sitting inside yesterday, my Pink Velour decided it was time to bloom. I saw it this morning from a distance. In a bit, I will go out and see it up close.

The Chickasaws are still throwing out several blooms at a time.

I hope you don't mind me jumping in here, but I read Bob's mention of a Tamarix. Mine bloomed for the first time this year. This is at least its 5th season. I told it in the late spring while I was cutting it back some, if it did not bloom this summer it was meeting my shovel. Well, low and behold, it has bloomed. I liked the airy looking shrub well enough, but I bought it for the pink blooms. I saw a neat egg sac or cocoon. It looked like whatever built it took some 3/8"-1/2" pieces of the stems I had cut off of the tamarix and stuck it on the cocoon to hide. Like a bimbo, I don't think I took a photo. The black and white bumble bees seem to like this plant, although they were smaller than the ones I usually see.

I also bought a crape myrtle this week. I didn't even know my local nursery had them until I saw them posted on their billboard for $20.00. I had one years ago which had a main stem or trunk but it always died back in the winter and did not thrive. I think it needed warmer temps in the winter than my 5-6z. It had the smaller leaves. This one has the larger leaves and is fountain shaped. The tag said to 10', but the plant description with the group of crapes said 20'. They had lilac, white, and the rose pink that I got. I will hunt my tag and post the name later.
Jane

Here is a photo of the 'thing' which is using my Tamarix as a host. You can see the pieces of tamarix stem he used to cover the cocoon. This is the first time I saw the caterpillar coming out of the cocoon to eat. Does anyone know what this might turn into?

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My crape myrtle is the Hopi (lagerstroemia kmdica 'Hopi')-Very hardy deciduous tree. Bright pink flowers in summer, heavy bloomer, orange to red fall color, grows 8-10', sun.
Have you ever seen or heard of this one?
Thanks. Jane

Typical bagworm you have there Jane, they've attacked my arborvites, white pine, in the past, and right now a few are on my ornamental cedar. Pick them off and kill them, you don't want more of them.

Thanks, Paula. When I picture bag worms, I think of those things that build them in our crabapple trees. I never saw anything like this before. It is going in the bucket of water & bug spray with the J. beetles.
Thanks again. Jane

Hi, I live in zone 7B - (Northern Virginia), and I am not sure if this is now good time to transplant Crape Myrtle? If not, what other season is the best to do that?
Thank you,
Dragana