Crape Myrtle Tree (Lagerstoemia indica)

Crape myrtles (common) are deciduous evergreen tree or shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, Southern Asia and Northern Australia. These trees are cultivated in warmer climates around the world since it does not need much attention.

From the family of lythraceae, these trees are a genius of around 50 species around the world. They are very adaptive trees which grow in moist, well drained soils. They prefer full sun and are drought resistant. These soils must have enough nutrients especially nitrogen.

These trees can be grown any time of the year especially if one is doing so in containers. However, watering is a must until they are fully established.

In order to produce large flowers, just like other trees, pruning is essential. It is normally done before new growth emerges in the spring. Once flowering occurs, it can be facilitated by adding fertilizers and removing faded blooms which further increase it.

These trees can be good for landscaping. They can either be used as small trees or shrubs around the garden. They normally grow up to 25 feet and mostly used as a group or specimen. There are others who like mixing them with other flowering trees.

Flowers range in color, where you can either get red to dark blue and purple. In all the colors you can see all shades in between. These flowers last throughout summer giving your garden a fantastic look.

There are a few pests that attack these trees though they are manageable. In fact with proper management where one plants them in sunny location, the pests can be controlled and prevented. The diseases that attack the trees are; mildew, black spot, sooty mold, tip blight and leave spot. Insects like aphids and Florida wax scale is also a problem to crape myrtle.

When pruning these trees it is good to get a professional help. This is because if not done well it can lead to drying and later dying of these trees.