We are redoing a bed in our back yard and want to plant a crape myrtle in it. Looking for one that is red/deep red and a decent size (20-30+ gal.).

Any suggestions?

there is a tree farm near millican on 2154... its where i bought all mine...

[This message has been edited by studioone (edited 4/10/2013 12:42p).]

What studio said. We have a few from there that look nice.

That's Brazos Valley Tree Farm.

They do Oaks and Myrtles primarily.

quote:

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there is a tree farm near millican on 2154... its where i bought all mine...

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This is where we bought ours as well. Just bought it last year

DP

[This message has been edited by TxElsie (edited 4/10/2013 8:02p).]

Research the variety and not just the color. Different types grow at different rates. I wanted white flowers and a fast growing plant that would be more tree and less shrub. If that's what you are looking for (but red instead of white), look for either a Dynamite or Arapaho variety. They'll grow 4-5 ft a year and get up to about 20 ft. If you are looking for a smaller plant, look for a Coral Sport or Christiana. Petite Red Imp or Mandi will give you a dwarf sized plant.

I picked up two Natechez white last year at our Houston Garden Center when they were 50% off - paid $100 for the pair. They're easily half again this size now. But that's probably too far for you to go.






[This message has been edited by TxElsie (edited 4/10/2013 8:03p).]

We had a Natchez white at our old house. It is really tall now!! I have a baby from it that is going great guns this year!

Crape Myrtles can be purchased that will eventually become tall trees to miniatures that are grown in hanging baskets.

If you get to the DFW area the Crape Myrtle Trails in McKinney have all the varieties that exist.

Red Rocket is a very good medium size with deep almost maroon blooms. Burgundy cotton has white blooms with a deep maroon color leaves especially in the fall of the year.

Please follow the advice given so far and get a variety that is not only the color that you want but, also, the size. That way, you won't have to do the butcher job on it every year that so many people are fond of doing. I will never understand why people do this every year. It leaves you with an ugly stump for 2-3 months and then an odd looking plant with a trunk and canopy that don't match. I can't think of another tree where this pruning method is routinely done. Buy the correct one and let it be a tree.

Need some wax myrtles as will. None at Home Depot or Lowe's.

I really like the Natchez. It gives you a weeping look, and when covered in blooms, reminds me of a fireworks burst.

I didn't know much about the differences in varieties and planted 5 of them in our yard in College Station. They grew a couple of inches in the 3 years we were in the house. Then we bought a fast-growing variety for our first house in Houston and it way exceeded that growth in a couple of months. For the bed in the picture above, I really wanted tree style varieties. They've got room to grow and I'm hoping for a good shade providing canopy in a few years.

The ones with native American tribal names are 'Fauriei Hybrids' and are very resistant to the powdery mildew issues that plague some other varieties.

[This message has been edited by TxElsie (edited 4/11/2013 10:03a).]

That pruning method goes by the lovely moniker "Crape Murder" Completely unnecessary. We selectively shape and trim ours and they look fantastic. We have the white tall varieties as well as a coupl eof tall red ones along our fence and then a couple of dwarf reds in a small bed in the middle of the backyard.

We actually got our large ones through a fundraisre at our church years ago. I don't remember who the wholesaler was.

Lowe's has a new variety called Black Diamond. The leaves are almost black. It is supposed to be very resistant to the diseases found in regular varieties. Very low cost too. The flowers will be dark red.

I think I saw some of the dark/black leafed ones at Home Depot. They looked very, very cool.

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 4/22/2013 9:17p).]

www.blackdiamondblooms.com