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Old 07-10-2015, 09:51 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,825 posts, read 2,811,257 times
Reputation: 1627

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We planted three in our back yard when we moved here and they've done so well we're planting new ones when we move again in a month or so.
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Old 07-10-2015, 10:37 AM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
13,437 posts, read 15,347,491 times
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My experiences with them haven't been that great. Aphid prone, needs more water than other trees, powdery mildew. Wax myrtles however are really low maintenance -- though they're just a large green tree and nothing more.
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Old 07-10-2015, 10:50 AM
 
198 posts, read 316,430 times
Reputation: 104
They are nice, but a lot of people just chainsaw them down like shrubs which wreck the trees. It's a bit difficult to find a medium sized tree that flowers like they do. Magnolias come to mind, but we have a lot of areas with alkaline soil that they don't like.
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Old 07-10-2015, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
4,760 posts, read 13,774,862 times
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They are gorgeous. We love seeing them bloom everywhere.
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Old 07-10-2015, 12:08 PM
 
Location: Cedar Park, Texas
1,601 posts, read 2,969,038 times
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I'm almost 46 years old and crepe myrtles have been in Texas for my entire life, so I wouldn't say it's an "initiative" to plant them. I love them and I love seeing them everywhere. You'll see the same with dogwoods and redbuds in NE Texas.
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Old 07-10-2015, 05:06 PM
 
Location: Westbury
3,283 posts, read 6,017,770 times
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French brought the chinese crepe myrtle to the south a hundred - two hundred plus years ago for the gardens of the well to do. One of the few flowering trees that are impossible to kill or harm in the entire region

If the tree has powdery mildew you are watering it to much. Also would be why that poster thinks it takes too much water. Dry it out to drought condition and they bloom more. If you get a lot of rains like this year the tree can beat the mildew and not be harmed by it. Proper pruning for air flow next year will help potential mildew probelms
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Old 07-11-2015, 12:40 AM
 
4,710 posts, read 7,063,245 times
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Although I acknowledge their showy flowers, I consider crepe myrtles to be highly invasive non natives. They sprout up all over your lawn, and they are impossible to remove. My yard was over planted with them, and I took out two 40 foot trees. I have been working for 3 years to kill those buggers, using all kinds of means. It is pretty close to impossible. They will sprout back from a little piece of root, a foot below the surface. So if you like them, plant them, but you had better want that tree to be there forever. You can't remove them and be prepared to be always fighting the spreading and suckers.
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Old 07-11-2015, 08:52 AM
 
1,556 posts, read 2,383,523 times
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They were everywhere where I grew up in San Antonio - 60s-70s along with certain other non-native plants. I like their bone like bark in the winter and their summer flowers but would remove them from my yard if I could. They drop seeds and sticky aphid goo all over my neighbor's car which makes him mad. Their little saplings pop up all over the place. And I never notice birds or bees being attracted to them so don't think they have much value other than making bright flowers in the summer.
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Old 07-11-2015, 09:28 AM
 
4,710 posts, read 7,063,245 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by orngkat View Post
And I never notice birds or bees being attracted to them so don't think they have much value other than making bright flowers in the summer.
Yes, that's another negative I didn't mention. Because they are non-natives, they are not utilized by wildlife. They are pretty useless in the landscape. Better to plant a native plant that because part of the ecosystem of your yard, and that supports insects, birds and butterflies.
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Old 07-11-2015, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
12,867 posts, read 13,173,864 times
Reputation: 13815
The boids are all over our two in the back yard.

Some folks just gotta complain about something.

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