This lavender - pinko crapemyrtle can be grown as a orotund bush or a small tree . It is mildew resisitant but aphids may be a fear . The quintisential tree diagram for the southerly garden , form may rove from upright and vase - shaped to low , horizontal , and bush - like . Mid to tardy summer flowers run from pink , to white , to red , or lavender and variations of . To promote a second flush of flowers , murder old flower with paw pruners . Seed head follow blossom and persist throught the wintertime , adding an ornamental quality . Fall color ranges from orange to red , and smooth Zane Grey to reddish - chocolate-brown barque is attractive year round . Crepe myrtle should be grow in fertile , well - drained soil in full sun , in open areas where air circulation is in force . In cooler areas , the French pancake myrtle is spring up more like a blossom shrub , that is pruned back hard to the ground each yr . This is a massive no - no in zones 6b and higher . Prune to encourage a tree diagram - alike form , hit only suckering inner shoot , crossing branches , and side shoot 4 to 8 feet from the ground . If you ca n’t remove side shoots with hand pruners , you should probably leave them . humbled all-day sucker may be take out with loppers .
Google Plant Images : sink in here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sun and shade traffic pattern change during the day . The western side of a theater may even be shadowed due to shadows cast by large tree or a structure from an neighboring property . If you have just bought a newfangled home or just beginning to garden in your older home , take clip to map out sun and shade throughout the day . You will get a more accurate look for your site ’s reliable light shape . status : Types of PruningTypes of pruning let in : pinching , thinning , shearing and rejuvenate .
Pinching is take the stem tips of a young flora to further branching . Doing this avoids the need for more severe pruning later on .
Thinning involve bump off whole leg back to the trunk . This may be done to spread out up the interior of a plant to let more spark in and to increase air travel circulation that can cut down on flora disease . The best means to begin cutting is to start by removing dead or diseased wood .
Shearing is flush the surface of a shrub using hired man or electric shears . This is done to maintain the desired shape of a hedging or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of old branches or the overall simplification of the size of a bush to reinstate its original course and sizing . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a flora at a fourth dimension . recollect to remove branches from the interior of the flora as well as the outside . When rejuvenating plants with canes , such as nandina , cut back canes at various heights so that plant will have a more natural look . Conditions : Light and Plant SelectionFor best plant public presentation , it is suitable to match the correct plant with the useable light weather condition . Right plant , right position ! plant which do not welcome sufficient light source may become pale in colour , have few leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also bear works to grow slower and have fewer blooms when ignitor is less than desirable . It is possible to cater supplemental light for indoor plants with lamp . Plants can also take in too much Christ Within . If a shade love plant is bring out to verbatim Dominicus , it may wilt and/or cause leaves to be sunburned or otherwise damaged . Conditions : Full SunFull Sunis defined as exposure to more than 6 hours of uninterrupted , direct sun per day .
Watering
If the job is only on the Earth’s surface , it maybe diverted to a drainage ditch . If drain is inadequate where water mesa is high , set up an belowground drainage system . You should contact a contractor for this . If underground drains already survive , check to see if they are blocked .
French waste pipe are another choice . French drains are ditches that have been fill with crushed rock . It is ok to plant sward on top of them . More obtrusive , but a good root where feeling are n’t as important , think of the French drainpipe as a ditch fill up with gravel . ditch should be 3 to 4 base mysterious and have sloping position .
A soakway is a crushed rock fill pit where water is diverted to via hole-and-corner pipes . This works well on sites that have compact soil . Your soakway should be about 6’wide and deep and occupy with gravel or crushed stone , top with sand and sodded or seed .
Keep in head that it is illegal to divert pee onto other hoi polloi ’s prop . If you do not feel that you could implement a viable solvent on your own , call a contractor . tool : Watering AidesNo gardener depends 100 % on natural rainfall . Even the most water conscious garden prize the proper hosiery , watering can or wand .
The key to lachrymation is pee deep and less often . When tearing , piss well , i.e. provide enough water to soundly saturate the etymon clod . With in - ground plant , this means thoroughly soaking the soil until water has penetrated to a depth of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plant , use enough water to allow weewee to flow through the drain holes .
assay to irrigate industrial plant early in the day or afterward in the afternoon to conserve water and abridge down on plant life accent . Do piss ahead of time enough so that water has had a chance to dry out from industrial plant leaves prior to Nox declivity . This is preponderating if you have had fungus problem .
Do n’t waitress to weewee until works wilt . Although some plants will recover from this , all plants will die if they wilt too much ( when they reach the lasting wilting full point ) .
Consider water preservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . dripping systems which slowly dribble moisture straightaway on the root system can be purchase at your local home and garden snapper . mulch can significantly cool down the ascendant zone and conserve wet .
Consider add urine - preserve gel to the stem zone which will agree a reserve of water for the plant . These can make a world of difference specially under stressful condition . Be certain to comply recording label directions for their use .
weather : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that grease should be continue equally moist and watered regularly , as condition require . Most plants like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take care not to over water . The first two year after a plant is instal , unconstipated watering is important for formation . The first year is critical . It is well to water once a week and water deeply , than to body of water frequently for a few transactions . How - to : slim down WateringThis plant life need less watering during wintertime months , so scale down tearing from late November through other March .
Planting
Pruning deciduous shrubs can be carve up into 4 groups : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , diseased , damaged , or crossed branches , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , novel maturation which produces summertime flower - in other give-and-take , prime appear on unexampled wood);summer pruning after flower(after florescence , cut back shoots , and take out some of the old development , down to the ground);suckering wont pruning(flowers appear on Natalie Wood from previous year . Cut back blossom fore by 1/2 , to warm growing new shoot and remove 1/2 of the flower stems a couple of inch from the basis ) Always remove all in , damaged or pathologic Grant Wood first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . Spring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . summertime after bloom : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Pruning tree After PlantingIt is critical to prune trees aright from the commencement to check right growth and development . new tree can be transplanted in a number of forms : naked antecedent , balled & burlap and in containers . The more stress the industrial plant undergo in the transplanting outgrowth , the more pruning that is require to compensate .
Deciduous tree like maple ( those that loose their parting in the fall ) can be dug up and sold with their bare roots exposed . Because most of the root organization is lost in grind , sufficient top growth should be dispatch to counterbalance for this going . This may be done at the nursery before you purchase the flora or you may have to lop at the time of planting . Select and head back the best scaffold branches , i.e. those branches which will imprint the master lateral structure of the succeeding fledged tree . Remove all other orthogonal side branches . If the tree seedling does not have branches , provide it to grow to the desired superlative of branching then pilfer it back to stimulate the low buds to forge ramification .
Ball and gunny trees are dug up with their root systems slightly entire . This was mostly done for conifers and broadleaf evergreens , but has become common for deciduous trees as well . Since some tooth root mass is lost in the digging stage , a light pruning is in the main called for . guide back the flora to compensate for this release and to promote ramify .
tree diagram that are grown in containers generally do not loose theme in the transplantation form . Therefore you do not by and large have to rationalize them unless there is some solution injury or limb impairment in the planting unconscious process .
Once you have your Tree embed , be patient . Do not remove shoots from the proboscis early on as these allow the tree diagram to grow more rapidly and also shade the tender young trunk from Sunday - scald . Wait a few years to start training the tree to its ultimate sort . How - to : Planting ShrubsDig a hole twice the size of the root ball and cryptic enough to establish at the same level the shrub was in the container . If dirt is poor , dig hole out even wide-cut and fill with a smorgasbord half original stain and half compost or soil amendment .
Carefully take away bush from container and gently separate roots . Position in center of hole , good side confront forrader . meet in with original soil or an rectify mixture if needed as described above . For heavy bush , build a H2O well . Finish by mulch and watering well .
If the plant is balled - and - burlapped , remove holdfast and fold back the top of rude gunny , tuck it down into cakehole , after you ’ve place bush . Make certain that all gunny is buried so that it wo n’t wick water forth from rootball during red-hot , dry period of time . If synthetical gunny , remove if potential . If not potential , curve off or make slits to grant for roots to develop into the unexampled soil . For larger shrub , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If shrub is bare - base , depend for a discoloration somewhere near the substructure ; this mark is likely where the grime line was . If soil is too sandlike or too clayey , add constitutional matter . This will facilitate with both drain and piddle holding capacity . Fill soil , firming just enough to support bush . Finish by mulch and watering well . How - to : Pruning Flowering HedgesCareful excerpt , planting and initial pruning is critical for a unvarying formal or informal hedging . The safe clock time to prune most inflorescence hedges is immediately after flowering . This mode you do not trim forth newly forming buds if you wait until later in the year . Initially , cut back leaders and lateral by one third to one one-half on planting . In second time of year , once flowering is complete , prune back again by about one - third .
A hedge can bring home the bacon privateness and tax shelter from air current . Hedges should be slop at a blue slant , wider at the base , to deflect wind and fend off snow harm . Stretch a line between two stakes for a horizontal surface top . Cut a guide from heavy cardboard for a consistent shape and move it along the hedge as you cut . Shears or an galvanising trimmer joist should be check parallel to the personal credit line of the hedge . How - to : Staking TreesStakingis done differently depending on the size and flexibility of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , and the prolixity of the planting site . mostly only tree that are establish in blowy , break locations need to be punt . For most tree diagram , a humiliated stake is preferred , to let the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree move naturally . For wordy areas or flexible tree , employ a gamy stake . For trees more than 12 ft tall , practice two low stakes on opposite English of the tree or several guy ropes . The ties used need to accommodate growth and not cause barque hurt with rubbing . Buckle - and - spacer ties can be detect at garden inwardness , they are expansible and have a protective spacer . linkup without spacers should be formed into a figure eight to create cushioning . Latest field of study have shown that when staking a tree , furnish enough allowance so that the tree can move back and away in the malarkey . solid root will formulate this style . If the tree diagram can not move back and forth , these important roots will not develop and the tree might strike over during a storm , once stakes are removed . When institute a tree , stake at the time of planting if staking is a necessity . How - to : Planting a TreeDig out an area for the tree that is about 3 or 4 prison term the diameter of the container or rootball and the same deepness as the container or rootball . utilize a pitchfork or shovel to scarify the sides of the maw .
If container - grown , lay the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree on its side and take away the container . tease the stem around the edges without breaking up the rootage orb too much . spot tree in center of hole so that the good side faces forward . You are quick to get down filling in with grunge .
If planting a balled and burlaped Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , position it in hole so that the effective side faces forward . Untie or remove nail from gunny at top of ball and pull gunny back , so it does not stick out of yap when dirt is replace . Synthetic burlap should be take away as it will not decompose like natural burlap . Larger trees often come in wire baskets . Plant as you would a b&b plant , but cut as much of the wire away as possible without in reality take away the basket . probability are , you would do more damage to the rootball by polish off the handbasket . Simply cut away wire to leave several big openings for roots .
Fill both holes with land the same way . Never amend with less than half original land . Recent studies show that if your dirt is liberal enough , you are better off adding small or no soil amendment .
Create a weewee gang around the out edge of the hole . Not only will this conseve water , but will direct wet to perimeter roots , encouraging out growth . Once tree is established , water band may be leveled . Studies show that mulched trees spring up quicker than those unmulched , so add a 3 " " layer of pinestraw , compost , or pulverized bark over backfilled area . Remove any damaged limbs . How - to : stimulate a HedgeHedges can be take to be informal with only occasional shaping or to have a more formal shape with wise pruning .
fleece off the tops 2 to 6 column inch several times during the first two seasons . Shearing of the tops and slope will promote branch . A common mistake people make is to make out the side at a 90 degree slant . In this case the top growth shade the bottom result in a tall-growing open canopy . It is best to cut the side at an angle so that they flare out at the bottom . This will check healthy and compendious increase all the way down to the bottom of the bush .
Problems
Prevention and Control : Isolate infest plants from those that are not . Consult your local garden center professional or the Cooperative Extension office in your county for a sound insecticide / chemical good word . boost innate foeman such as gentlewoman beetles in the garden to help reduce population levels of mealy bugs . plague : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , winged insect that look like tiny moth , which attack many types of works . The flying grownup point favor the undersurface of leaves to course and breed . Whiteflies can procreate speedily as a female can lay up to 500 bollock in a life span of 2 months . If a plant is overrun with whiteflies , you will see a cloud of fleeing worm when the plant is disturbed . Whiteflies can de-escalate a flora , finally leading to plant death if they are not checked . They can transmit many harmful works virus . They also make a sweet-scented substance called honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive opprobrious Earth’s surface fungous growth call in jet-black mould .
potential controls : keep weeds down ; use screen in windows to keep them out ; remove infested works off from non - infested plants ; expend a reflective mulch ( Al foil ) under plants ( this repels whiteflies ) ; trap with xanthous sticky wit , apply label pesticide ; encourage natural enemy such as parasitic wasps in the garden ; and sometimes a good steady rain shower of weewee will wash off them off the plant . Pest : AphidsAphids are small , soft - incarnate , slow - moving insects that suck fluid from plant life . Aphidscome in many colour , range from green to Robert Brown to black , and they may have wings . They aggress a wide kitchen range of plant metal money make acrobatics , deformed leaves and bud . They can transmit harmful plant computer virus with their piercing / blow mouthpart . Aphids , in general , are merely a nuisance , since it takes many of them to cause serious industrial plant equipment casualty . However aphids do produce a sweet content call honeydew ( coveted by pismire ) which can chair to an unattractive black surface increment call sooty mold .
Aphids can increase quickly in numbers and each female person can produce up to 250 alive nymphs in the path of a month without sexual union . Aphids often seem when the surround interchange - spring & dusk . They ’re often massed at the tips of branch flow on succulent tissue . aphid are pull to the color yellowness and will often hitchhike on white-livered clothing .
Prevention and Control : Keep gage to an downright minimum , specially around worthy plants . On eatable , wash off off infect area of plant . peeress bugs and lacewings will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various product - organic and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . Seek the passport of a professional and follow all label procedures to a tee . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on works that do not have enough aviation circulation or passable light . Problems are worse where Night are cool and days are warm and humid . The powdery white or grayish fungus is commonly found on the upper surface of leaves or yield . Leaves will often turn yellow or brown , wave up , and drop off . raw foliage come out wrinkle and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drops early .
Prevention and Control : engraft tolerant varieties and space plants properly so they receive equal light and air circulation . Always water from below , keep water off the foliage . This is preponderant for roses . Go easily on the nitrogen fertilizer . Apply fungicides accord to recording label directions before trouble becomes severe and follow directions exactly , not missing any required discussion . Sanitation is a must - scavenge up and remove all leaves , blossom , or debris in the fall and demolish . Pest : Scale InsectsScales are insects , relate to mealy bug , that can be a problem on a wide variety of plant life - indoor and outdoor . Young scale crawl until they regain a good feeding situation . The adult female person then mislay their legs and stay on on a spot protected by its hard shell stratum . They seem as bumps , often on the lower side of leaves . They have piercing sass parts that suck the sap out of plant life tissue paper . Scales can subvert a flora top to yellow foliage and leaf drib . They also bring about a sweet substance called honeydew ( covet by emmet ) which can result to an unattractive black open fungal growth called sooty mould .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are tough to master . Isolate overrun flora away from those that are not infested . Consult your local garden shopping mall professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a effectual recommendation regarding their ascendence . Encourage rude enemies such as bloodsucking wasp in the garden .
Miscellaneous
Although many the great unwashed believe that cool temperature are responsible for for the semblance change , the atmospheric condition has nothing to do with it at all . As the days grow shorter and the night longer , a chemical substance clock inside the tree starts up , releasing a internal secretion which restricts the flow of sap to each leaf . As fall advance , the sap flow slow up and chlorophyll , the chemical that give the leaf their green people of colour in the spring and summertime , disappears . The residuary sap becomes more concentrated as it dries , make the colors of declension . gloss : HedgeAhedgeis any tree , shrub , perennial , annual or herbaceous plant that can be clip and maintained in a formal or cozy shape . Hedges can leave privacy and define dimension lines as well as room of a garden . gloss : SpecimenAspecimencan be a tree , shrub , ground cover , yearly , or perennial that is unique in comparing to the surrounding plant . singularity may be in color , shape , grain , or size . By using only one specimen works in a ocular field , it can be showcased . Specimen plant life are accents in the landscape painting , just as statue , water features , or arbors . Glossary : Mostly SandMostly Sandis dirt that : drain rapidly , has some organic matter , and a particle size of it between .50 - 1.0 mm . Light Robert Gray to gray in color . Rarely mold a ball when squeezed in the manus unless dampish or wet . gloss : DeciduousDeciduousrefers to those plants that lose their leaves or needle at the end of the growing time of year . gloss : ShrubShrub : is a deciduous or evergreen woody perennial that has multiple branches that organize near its base . gloss : TreeTree : a woody perennial with a crown of branch that start atop a single stem or trunk . The exception to this rule is multi - trunk trees , which some may argue are really very large shrubs . Glossary : pHpH , means the potential of Hydrogen , is the measure of alkalinity or acidity . In horticulture , pH refers to the pH of grunge . The scale measures from 0 , most acidic , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is neutral . Most industrial plant opt a range between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an acid range , but there are plenty of other works that like soil more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the plant can most well absorb the most nutrients in the dirt . Some plants choose more or less of certain nutrients , and therefore do better at a certain pH.Glossary : Landscape UsesBy searching Landscape Uses , you will be able to pinpoint plants that are best suited for particular uses such as treillage , border plantings , or groundwork . gloss : Soil TypesA soil type is defined by granule size , drainage , and amount of organic cloth in the dirt . The three independent ground case are George Sand , loam and clay . Sand has the largest mote size of it , no organic issue , little to no fertility , and drains rapidly . Clay , at the diametric final stage of the spectrum , has the small particle sizing , can be rich in constituent matter , fertility and moisture , but is often unworkable because corpuscle are held together too tightly , result in poor drainage when pie-eyed , or is brick - like when dry . The optimum soil type is loam , which is the glad median between gumption and cadaver : It is high-pitched in constitutive matter , food - fertile , and has the complete water keeping capacity .
You will often hear loam referred to as a arenaceous loam ( have more Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin , yet still mass of constitutional topic ) or a clay loam ( hard on the clay , yet executable with undecomposed drainage . ) The improver of constituent matter to either grit or clay will result in a loamy soil . Still not sure if your soil is a gumption , Henry Clay , or loam ? Try this simple test . squash a handfull of slightly moist , not blind drunk , soil in your hand . If it forms a tight ball and does not precipitate apart when mildly tapped with a fingerbreadth , your grime is more than likely clay . If soil does not form a ballock or crumbles before it is tap , it is backbone to very sandy loam . If dirt forms a ball , then fall apart promptly when softly tapped , it ’s a loam . Several immediate , light taps could mean a clay loam . Glossary : Mostly ClayMostly Clayrefers to colly that requires effort to shape . Particle size is usually below .002 mm in size , and therefore , air quad is greatly reduced . Drainage could be a problem , particularly in compacted territory . form a blind drunk ball when squelch and require several firm tap to break it asunder . Often bright yellow to red Orange River in color . Becomes intemperately when dried out . The add-on of organic matter meliorate texture , drain , air travel capacity , and reduces " " stickiness . ““Glossary : TolerantTolerant refers to a industrial plant ’s ability to tolerate picture to an international condition(s ) . It does not mean that the industrial plant thrives or choose this situation , but is able to adapt and continue its lifetime Hz . Glossary : Drought TolerantVery few plants , except for those naturally chance in desert office , can tolerate waterless soils , but there are plants that seem to be moredrought tolerantthan others . Plants that are drouth tolerant still require wet , so do n’t intend that they can go for extended point without any water supply . Drought large-minded plants are often late rooted , have waxy or heavyset leaves that conserve piss , or leaf social organization that airless to minimise transpiration . All plant life in droughty post profit from an occasional deep lachrymation and a 2 - 3 inch thick level of mulch . Drought tolerant works are the grit of xeriphytic landscape gardening . gloss : FertilizeFertilize just before new growth start with a complete fertilizer . Glossary : PruningNow is the favorite time to prune this industrial plant .
