Hot on the Heels of Summer
It takes a lengthy buildup of sun and heat to coax out the oh-so-cool flowers of the crape myrtle
August can be hard on the garden. Which only serves to spotlight the beauty of crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia sp.), a flowering tree that shows up with a dazzling display in the dog days of summer.
Crape myrtles love full sun and heat — lots of heat. Reflected heat from neighboring buildings and surrounding asphalt, difficult growing conditions for most plants, provide an ideal environment to bring on the blooms. Indeed, a mature stand of several crape myrtles in the parking lot at the Center for Urban Horticulture is a sight to behold in late summer.
But here’s the catch.
Flowering is determined by when the plant has accumulated a certain number of hours of temperatures above 85° F. So, a variety that begins blooming in June in southern states, may not begin flowering until late summer here in the Pacific Northwest. The good news is, with proper placement and good growing conditions, once a crape myrtle begins to flower the tree will continue to produce flushes of subsequent bloom for six to eight weeks.
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