Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) provides abundant summer color with a minimum of maintenance. Because of these features, crape myrtle should be used more often in the home landscape and as street trees in community developments. Crape myrtle is ideally suited for community plantings since it is long-lived, withstands droughts after becoming established, and is relatively free of disease and insect difficulties. Colors range from red and pink to lavender and white. It is usually best to use only one color in each cluster. Crape myrtle can be used effectively with other summer flowering shrubs, such as althea, if you exercise care in harmonizing colors.
Crape Myrtle will grow under adverse soil conditions. It grows and flowers much better in well-prepared soil, however, so good soil preparation is well worth the effort involved. Preparation includes digging a large hole -- at least two times wider than the root ball. Set the plant in the hole no deeper than it originally grew in the container or field. Then backfill with the same soil removed from the hole after breaking apart clods and removing rocks or other debris.
Water Crape Myrtle plants thoroughly at planting time and once a week, in the absence of rainfall, for the first two months after planting.
Established Crape Myrtle plants will tolerate drought. Flowering is enhanced, however, if plants are watered during dry periods that occur during the flowering season
For strong growth and abundant flowering, plant Crape Myrtle in full sun. Heavy shade will reduce growth and flowering and will increase disease problems such as sooty mold on the foliage and powdery mildew on the flower buds and young growth. Large shade trees will also compete with the Crape Myrtle for moisture, causing poor growth and flowering. Lack of sunlight and moisture are the common causes of poor growth and flowering.
Crape Myrtle flowers on new growth of the season, so you can prune plants any time during the late winter or early spring before growth begins without loss of flower buds. Avoid pruning in early fall before the first frost, because pruning forces new growth and keeps the plant from going dormant. Severe freezes can kill the plant if it is not fully dormant.
Pruning results in an abundance of new shoots that form flowers. It also reduces the amount of vegetative growth and funnels the energy of the plant into new growth and flowers. Pruning, however, is not essential for flowering. Some of the most spectacular floral displays can be seen on old, un pruned Crape Myrtles along roadsides. Flower clusters are usually smaller on un pruned crape myrtles, but the number of flower clusters is greater. Therefore, the overall floral impact of the plant is not reduced.
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If you want a tree, cut out all except one to five branches at ground level. Remove all side branches up to the level where you want the limbs to start. |
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Benefits of Mulching
There are basically two types of mulches: organic and inorganic. Both types may have their place in the garden.
An organic mulch is a mulch made of natural substances such as bark, wood chips, leaves, pine needles, or grass clippings. Organic mulches attract insects, slugs, cutworms and the birds that eat them. They decompose over time and need to be replaced after several years.
Inorganic mulches, such as gravel, pebbles, black plastic and landscape fabrics, do not attract pests and they do not decompose.
Mulching is a very important practice for establishing new plantings, because it helps to conserve moisture in the root ball of the new plant until the roots have grown out into the surrounding soil. The growth rate and health of trees and shrubs increases when there is no competition for water and nutrients from weeds. Mulch also helps to prevent tree trunk injury by mowers and trimmers. Newly planted trees require a circle of mulch 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Maintain this for five years. Mulch entire beds of shrubs, trees, annuals, herbaceous perennials and ground covers.
Mulch can also be used to cover trails, driveways, and play and natural areas.
Light-weight mulch such as dried grass clippings and pine straw can be used temporarily to cover low-growing tender plants to protect them from frost injury.
The best time to mulch new plantings is right after you plant them. Around established plants mulch is best applied in early spring. This is when plants are beginning to grow and before weed seeds start to germinate.
How often mulch needs to be replenished depends on the mulching material. Grass clippings and leaves decompose very fast and need to be replenished frequently. Inorganic mulches such as gravel and pebbles rarely need replenishing. As the plants grow and fill in the bed areas, less and less mulch is needed.
Before applying any type of mulch to an area, it is best to weed the area. Spread a layer of mulching materials over the entire plant bed. Keep mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the stems of woody plants. This will prevent decay caused by wet mulch and rodent damage during the winter. Keep mulch 6 to 12 inches away from the walls of buildings.
Subterranean termites nest in the soil and feed on materials that contain cellulose. Termite treatments are applied to the soil around buildings, so keeping mulch away from walls will prevent termites from using it as a bridge to cross treated soil.
Newly planted trees require a circle of mulch 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Maintain this for at least three years. Do not pile mulch against the trunk. For established trees in lawns create a circle of mulch about 2 feet in diameter for each inch of trunk diameter. Increase the size of the mulched area as the tree grows. Try to apply the mulch at least 6 to 12 inches beyond the drip-line of the tree. Because the root system can extend two to three times the crown spread of the tree, mulch as large an area as possible.
The amount of mulch to apply depends on the texture and density of the mulch material. Many wood and bark mulches are composed of fine particles and should not be more than 2 to 3 inches deep. Excessive amounts of these fine-textured mulches can suffocate plant roots, resulting in yellowing of the leaves and poor growth.
Coarse-textured mulches such as pine bark nuggets allow good air movement through them and can be as deep as 4 inches.
Mulches composed of grass clippings or shredded leaves should never be deeper than 2 inches, because these materials tend to mat together, restricting the water and air supply to plant roots.
What Can I Compost?
Most plant material can be used for compost. Organic trimmings in your landscape, such as fallen leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, flowers and the remains of garden plants make excellent compost. Compost made from grass clippings treated with herbicides and pesticides is not recommended for use in vegetable gardens. Kitchen scraps, such as fruit and vegetable peels and trimmings, crushed eggshells, tea bags, and coffee grounds and filters can also be composted. Woody yard trimmings can be run through a shredder before adding to the compost pile. Sawdust may be added in moderate amounts if additional nitrogen is applied. Add a pound of actual nitrogen per 100 pounds of dry sawdust.
WHAT MATERIALS SHOULD AVOID ADDING TO MY COMPOST PILE?
Organic materials that should not be added to your compost pile include meat, bones and fatty foods (such as cheese, salad dressing and leftover cooking oil). Do not add pet or human wastes to a compost pile.
Weeds that have not gone to seed can be added to the compost pile. Weeds with large storage roots like nutsedge, Florida betony or greenbriar should be left out and dried in the sun before composting to reduce their chances of survival.
The high levels of heat produced in the center of the compost pile can kill many pests, such as weeds with seeds and diseased or insect-infested plants. However, it is very difficult to mix the contents thoroughly enough to bring all the wastes to the center, so some disease organisms may be returned to the garden with the compost.
