Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
is there such a thing as a non flowering crepe myrtle? We have lived in our home for 3 years and there is a crepe myrtle, I believe it is a dwarf variety that gets no taller than about 5-6 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. It never has any blooms on it so I was just curious if anyone else has experienced this. The tree looks to be healthy. I would just love to see some color on it.
It might not be getting enough sun. Has it been whacked on in the name of "pruning"? Could it be planted in or near a construction pit or too close to a driveway where builder was not careful with waste?
I too had a dwarf one or two which did not bloom but they were definitely in way too much shade. However I've seen reg CM in shade which do bloom. My dwarf varieties were about knee- high.
The tree is in full sun (probably 6 hours or so but does get shade starting around 3:30-4pm) in the backyard about 6 feet away from the pool. It has never been creped murdered, that I know of and I certainly haven't done anything except trim a few straggly limbs on the bottom. I know that they are drought tolerant but we have had 2 really tough summers (plus one summer the house was vacant and nothing was cared for) since we moved into the home. I don't water it much and is out of reach from the sprinkler system so I don't know....I know that it is a crepe myrtle...what is odd is that I have the Natchez variety in our front yard that only get about 4-5 hours of sun and blooms profusely. Go figure.
Txtoal,
Has it grown much in the past couple of years?
Everything needs water, even drought tolerant shrubs.
Your sprinkler system doesn't reach it, so you don't water it at all?
You are wondering why it isn't blooming?
I'm wondering why it isn't dead.
Try putting a small sprinkler on it once a week if it doesn't
rain.
I have a small circular one from Home Depo, about 6.00.
Watch it grow, then it will bloom.
Crape myrtles bloom on new growth.
No water, no growth.
No growth, no blooms.
is there such a thing as a non flowering crepe myrtle? We have lived in our home for 3 years and there is a crepe myrtle, I believe it is a dwarf variety that gets no taller than about 5-6 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. It never has any blooms on it so I was just curious if anyone else has experienced this. The tree looks to be healthy. I would just love to see some color on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by txtoal
The tree is in full sun (probably 6 hours or so but does get shade starting around 3:30-4pm) in the backyard about 6 feet away from the pool. It has never been creped murdered, that I know of and I certainly haven't done anything except trim a few straggly limbs on the bottom. I know that they are drought tolerant but we have had 2 really tough summers (plus one summer the house was vacant and nothing was cared for) since we moved into the home. I don't water it much and is out of reach from the sprinkler system so I don't know....I know that it is a crepe myrtle...what is odd is that I have the Natchez variety in our front yard that only get about 4-5 hours of sun and blooms profusely. Go figure.
I'm sorry your crape myrtle is being a "nudge" but it does happen. The following may help you trouble shoot where you have gone wrong or eliminate the most obvious causes. You are not alone!
No there is not a variety that does not bloom. Even the dwarf varieties all bloom.
The tree is getting adequate sun if it is really getting 6 hours of full sun. Check the exact amount over the next few days. Dappled sun does not count, nor does bright but not direct light. The whole thing needs to be in sunlight for much of the day to bloom. People sometimes don't realize that amounts of sunlight change with sun angle and will mistakenly think something is getting sun all day when it really gets sun from 11 AM to 2 PM during the mid summer months which barely qualifies to be called part sun and really is intense sun but part shade conditions. The crape myrtle may stay green in that level of light but not bloom.
I've gone through the troubleshooting list quite a few times with other people who have had similar issues. The amount of sunlight would have been the first thing I would ask.
Trimming is the next. If you did any trimming/pruning/neatening up after the tree has leafed out you will have cut off the parts that contain the cells that will form the flowers later. The best time to do any trimming for neatness or is immediately after blooming or in the spring just as the tree breaks dormancy.
Fertilizer.This is the second most common reason for no blooms. Especially the wrong kind and too much. They are what one could call "light feeders" they require little or no extra fertilizer to do well, in fact they bloom more in poor soils that rich ones. If anyone has ever seen the fantastic job NC has done on its interstates with plantings you'll notice endless amounts of crape myrtles all blooming away and thriving on neglect. The more nitrogen they get the fewer blooms you'll see. Put the Miracle Gro or whatever else you are "feeding" your plants with away!! Get a soil test done through your local cooperative extension and find out how much N is already in the soil. Increasing the phosphorous content will help. To do so you can use bone meal or you can use a low nitrogen-high phosphorus fertilizer or phosphorus only fertilizer (sometimes called triple phosphorus). In general phosphorus is a bloom builder for many plants.
Watering. Watering too much is far worse than too little, except in long heat waves and severe local droughts. Don't feel obligated to water an existing crape myrtle anymore than you would water a large oak tree. It thrives on neglect.
is there such a thing as a non flowering crepe myrtle? We have lived in our home for 3 years and there is a crepe myrtle, I believe it is a dwarf variety that gets no taller than about 5-6 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. It never has any blooms on it so I was just curious if anyone else has experienced this. The tree looks to be healthy. I would just love to see some color on it.
Is it in the shade? if so, you will get no bloom or very little. We have 2, one on each side of our garage, they don't do too well, especially one of them, because of shade. The volunteer one, outside of our office window, that is growing in the middle of a Hydrangea is doing great. Too bad the Hydrangeas didn't bloom at all this year. Lots of pretty green leaves, no flowers!!!
Thanks for the responses everyone! I will be checking the exact time because I think the sun might be an issue...I think it is getting shade by mid afternoon and that just may not be enough. I do water it some when I water my other plants, especially when gets hot, 100+ temps but I know I do not over water it. I recall in the spring that one side of the plant greened alot quicker than the other side. It looked like it was half dead but then it slowly turned green and it has stayed the same size over the past 3 years. J&EM, I rarely put fertilizer on any plants and never on the trees...I just don't think about it, oops.
Don't you hate that, my mom and I will see a beautiful plant/tree/bush and it will be in the middle of nowhere or in a odd spot that you know was neglected and we go home and baby our plants and they don't look half as good, lol.
If I remember, I will try to take a picture. Happy 4th!
Just an update, the "non blooming" crepe myrtle has finally bloomed! The blooms are white. For those of you that suggested that it was not getting enough water, that is what I am assuming the issue was, not the sun. We got some really good rain in our area for 5 days straight and a few days of sporadic rain afterwards about 2 weeks ago, which is very unusual for this time of year. The tree took off with new and lush growth and finally flowered. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Just an update, the "non blooming" crepe myrtle has finally bloomed! The blooms are white. For those of you that suggested that it was not getting enough water, that is what I am assuming the issue was, not the sun. We got some really good rain in our area for 5 days straight and a few days of sporadic rain afterwards about 2 weeks ago, which is very unusual for this time of year. The tree took off with new and lush growth and finally flowered. Thanks for all the suggestions.
I don't think the water has a thing to do with it: Ours in NM was gorgeous and we all know how much rain you get in NM. Here we have had constant rain, we still have one that blooms a little, one a little more and one that loves to show it's colors.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
