Unexpectedly bought a tree for our house

[Koronin]

Ok didn't exactly plan on doing that today. We had gone to the maritime museum to see artifacts now on display from the Queen Anne's Revenge (Blackbeard's ship). That was really cool. http://ncmaritimemuseums.com/beaufort.html Link is to the museum's site.

Then stopped at a nursery near there (over an hour from our home) just to see what they had. Did NOT expect to buy anything more just browsing. Well we had decided we wanted to buy a Crape Myrtle tree for the area infront of one of our front windows. Crape Myrtle's will provide shade for the tree but will also not block the window so you can easily see what is going on and not give an intruder a place to hide. We had decided we wanted one with red flowers. Well the Arapaho (which we had planted at our old house) is too big, around 20 ft tall, the Dynamite is also too tall (although is hubby's favorite) it's around 20 to 25 ft tall. So we found 3 or 4 that would work. Well low and behold this nursery had one of those we were considering. It's called a Cedar Lane. So we bought one. We actually do have another Crape Myrtle in our front yard but are not sure which one it is as it did not bloom this year. It has not been pruned in a long time and really needs it. Hopefully after we prune it this fall it will bloom next year. Most likely it has either white or pink flowers as those are the tow most common ones. We just happen to prefer the Red ones and the blue/purple ones.
Cedar Lane: http://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Cedar-Lane-Red-Crape-Myrtle-p/myrclr1.htm
Arapaho: http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Arapaho.htm
Dynamite: http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Dynamite.htm

[jessmarimba]

Very cool! I was looking for a tree for my side yard/former driveway extension to block the view of the neighbors into my house. Then I found out that I live in a "target neighborhood" for a non-profit green organization and I can qualify for a free tree or trees that are appropriate for our climate. They give them out in fall. I'm impatient but will be very excited to get one! Trees are cool :)

[Koronin]

That is really cool that you can get a climate/area appropriate tree. I'd be impatient also, but sounds like a good thing.

[bmccasland]

Crepe myrtles are so pretty - flowers in the summer, nifty bark and branches in the winter months. Just don't plant it too close to your house - they aren't foundation plants.
The guy who owned my house in Louisiana before me planted one moderately close to the house and on the same side where the power lines came through. Maybe he was planning for the myrtle to be butchered annually to "keep it in control" but I only pruned it, and pruning it around the power lines was loads of fun :eek:. Hate the pollard look.

You *are* going to let yours grow free and not prune it back to 6 ft nubbins, right?? :o

[Koronin]

The one we bought has a maximum height of 7 to 8 ft which is perfect and the reason we were looking for that one or one of 2 others that have max heights of 6 to 8 ft. You need to pick the right one for where you want it. No power lines to worry about where we're planting it. The one in the middle of the yard needs pruned pretty badly because it's been left with no pruning at all and has tons of branches crossing each other and dead and damaged ones that need taken off. That will be done in the fall and hopefully next year will have a better idea which one it is. Because of it's issues it never bloomed so we do not know which color flowers it has.
We do have two tiny ones that will eventually be planted that are currently in containers. Those only get to be 2 to 3 ft tall for one and up to 4 ft tall for the other one.

[jessmarimba]

:) crepe myrtles that bloom are so pretty (at the house I grew up in, it was pretty rare, but such beautiful trees!)

I have a rosebush here that has never been pruned. I think its 30 years old. trying to figure out what to do at this stage (without injuring the plants) is tough.

(sorry for lack of caps, cat on arm.)

[Koronin]

That's basically what we are trying to figure out with the Crape Myrtle that is in the front yard. How to prune it without hurting it. My husband did cut out a couple of dead branches from it right after we closed on the house, but was didn't want to do any more for fear of hurting it due to it being early April. At least it's definitely alive, just not blooming. I also wouldn't know where to start on a rosebush. Good luck.

[channlluv]

Crepe myrtles always remind me of my great aunt. She had some beautiful fuschia ones in her yard. I wonder if they'd really adapt to San Diego and my clay soil. According to that site, they're okay for the growing zone, but I've never been able to get anything to grow in my yard. It really is all rocks and clay. There's some kind of oak something, I think, in the front yard (it produces these hard orange nutty things that have sharp edges when they open, about the size of a marble - it's a pain to rake up) and what I think is an olive tree. And one scrabbly orange tree that produces really bitter fruit. Go figure. Nothing else lives except the weeds. Sandspurs and foxtails.

I just don't know the west coast plants very well.

Roxy

[Koronin]

The Charlotte, NC area has clay for soil and Crepe Myrtles grow there. Don't know how different the clay is in San Diego, but there were areas of our yard we couldn't get weeds to grow let alone grass, but the Crape Myrtle, the Leyland Cypress, and Sugar Maple were growing just fine in it. Actually I'll be getting another Maple at some point from my mom to plant in our yard here. She has a couple and keeps getting tons of new ones each year so instead of buying one we'll get one from her.

[bmccasland]

Roxy - can you go to a locally owned nursery (not a box store) and ask them? Or see if they have crepe myrtles for sale? So long as they get water - crepe myrtles aren't desert plants - I don't see why they wouldn't grow in San Diego.

Pruning - an arborist?? Or talk to your county extension agent. They generally have a master gardener in the program or know who to call.