Published: July 13, 2008 12:36 am            

It's Alive

Crepe myrtles are one of the best shrubs to plant in Oklahoma. They love the summer heat and tolerate our unpredictable winters.

Surviving drought conditions and wet soil, versatility is the crepe myrtle’s middle name. Probably the only thing that will deter a crepe myrtle from excelling in any planting is too much shade. They by far are the best selling flowering shrub across the state.

The most frequent concern of homeowners is height. Lagerstroemia (versatile) indica is by character a tall shrub. Often reaching 20 feet or more, our neighbor Texas considers it a tree and sells it as such. Occasionally a shrub shopper seeks out a tall variety, but more often they request a dwarf crepe myrtle.

Breeders and growers vary somewhat on what constitutes a dwarf shrub. For most, tall crepes reach 20 feet, semi-dwarfs are 8-12 feet and dwarf varieties grow 4-8 feet high. A few varieties stay near the ground with a spreading habit.

Blooming on new wood makes pruning a cinch with crepe myrtles. Prune around Valentine’s Day. This allows the hardest freezes to have passed and new leaf growth has yet to emerge. Shrubs that bloom on new growth that comes each spring leave many options open for shaping.

I tell people to prune a crepe myrtle 3 feet below the height you would like it to bloom. For instance, to have your flowers at 6 feet, prune the stems to 3 each year. With this type of maintenance, dwarf becomes irrelevant unless you are looking for height.

I opened Ortho’s Garden Problem Solver one day to find an entry for “Crepe Murder.” It showed an old shrub with large stems that had been abruptly cut 4 feet above the ground. This may not be the best solution for bring a tall specimen down to size, but it will not kill the plant.

Many homeowners, my father included, prefer to maintain 6-foot shrubs with a single trunk. The flowering branches are cut back to 3-inch nubs each winter, looking a little naked and awkward. Once leafed out, these plants perform, blooming just as he desires.

I, on the other hand, like to use crepes in perennial beds, blooming shoulder high in a fountain of color. I prune my ‘Red Rocket’ (a Carl Whitcomb introduction reaching 20-plus feet) ankle high each year. I have no unsightly, butchered stems and enjoyed the dark red blooms at 4 feet rather than 20.

Next week, how to renew an old shrub.

LeeAnn Barton can be e-mailed at .

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.