Probably the most common cause of white specs appearing in the blooms of otherwise solid-colored red blooms of some crApe myrtles is lack of light (cloudy weather, semi-shady location, etc).

Thanks Brandon. I have it planted on the west side of my house, so it gets shade during the morning and sun during the afternoon. Its been really hot and sunny here for the past 2 months.

i have never 'done' CM's .. here in MI

are you bragging.. or complainin??

cuz they sure look fine to me ..

wish i had some option for a flowering tree in the high heat of summer ...

ken

ps: searching for knowledge is a very good reason ... also ...

I really like the two different bloom colors. I was just afraid it meant some type of nutrient deficiency. The crepe myrtles around here have been really beautiful this year. Next year I may plant some more.

Yep, I really like crApe myrtles. I have a small collection of them, including a few really red ones. Of course, as Ken can attest to, lilacs are cool too. I have a few, but don't have the climate to do as well with many of them as someone like Ken (clear throat) does.

I haven't seen the really red varieties. I mainly see white, purple,lavender and pink. My mom has a friend that has the dwarf weeping variety.

Carl Whitcomb's Dynamite, Red Rocket, Siren Red, and Tightwad Red as well as the National Arboretum's 'Arapaho' and 'Cheyenne' are probably the most commonly available red-blooming cultivars. Here's a more complete list:

Cultivar (TM Name)/ Height / Form / Mildew Resistance
Arapaho / 20'+ / upright / high
Centennial Spirit / 8'-12' / upright / good
Cherokee / 8'-10' / globose / good
Cheyenne / 8'-12' / rounded / high
Christiana / 8'-10' / upright / fair
Coral Sport / 8'-10' / upright / fair
Gamad I (Cherry Dazzle) / 3'-5' / small dwarf / high
Mandi / 6'-12' / dwarf / fair
Moned (Chica Red) / 2'-5' / small dwarf / fair
Moners (Petite Embers) / 5' / upright dwarf / fair
Monimp (Petite Red Imp) / 4'-5' / upright dwarf / fair
Okmulgee / 3'-6' / dwarf upright / fair
Red Filli / 1.5'-2' / dwarf spreading / fair?
Rubra Compacta / 6'-8' / compact / ?
Tonto / 6'-12' / compact globose / high
Victor / 3'-5' / upright dwarf / good
Watermelon Red / 20'-25' / upright / fair
Weeping Alamo Fire / 2'-3' / weeping, miniature / fair
Wit II (Dynamite) / 20'-25' / upright / good
Whit IV (Red Rocket) / 20'+ / upright / high
Whit V (Tightwad Red) / 2'-4' / dwarf / high
Whit VII (Siren Red) / 10'-12' / upright / high
Whit IX (Double Feature) / 6'-8' / compact globose / high

Thanks Brandon for that list. I'll look for some red varieties next year.

Blackwillow, look at Dynamite. I just planted 2 of them and they are a really spectacular red, and the new leaves are red, too. I also have a Red Rocket that's a great red (both of those are the same lines of breeding for reds).

Concur on Dynamite - it is way redder than Centennial Spirit or Cherokee, for example, both of which I still find rather pink, and as eahamel notes, the foliage is great. It stays bronzy all summer, really one of the best cms for foliage, I think. I'll have to look for a Red Rocket or some of those other Whits.

Wow I really like Dynamite. I'll have to look for that variety next year.

Used to be, we would be lucky to find two cultivars of Crapes at either big box stores or nurseries, now every year they seem to have more offered. Gotten to the point where I now have a growing collection of the cultivars. Dinimites seem to be one of te most commonly available. They all seem very forgiving and versatile. Current collection--

Dynamite--3
Zuni--2
Dwarf Hopi-1
Catawba--2
Tuscarora--1
Pecos--1
Centennial Spirit--1

Very addicting plant!

Yes they are addicting. I've killed three so far as I go back and forth between "giving it one more try" and "I can grow it in a contianer and take it in each winter". Last winter's lack of cold has me eyeing them again.... maybe I haven't hit on just the right spot yet.

They will do fine in containers! Just need to protect from hard frost in a pot.
Your house is too warm for overwintering them.--maybe a garage, chilly cellar, the attic... Fact they are so easy in containers adds to he collecting bug. Okay, no more landscaping space so they can always do well in a container and fact that they are deciduous means that don't need light in their winter retreat. Still, I managed to plant 5 more today on a new western exposure fence neighbor recently installed. They transplant well and it is supposed to pour tomorrow. If you do plant again in the ground, make sure you don't make my first mistake with the very first one I got years ago. I bought a big, very robust cultivar and planted too house to the house. They were eventually very big, constantly needed pruning and were removed.

I have a friend that has a pale lavender crape myrtle, I'm going to ask her if I could dig up the runners. My sister bought one of the dwarf crape myrtles from Walmart. It was only a few inches tall and it was covered in blooms.

What runners?! Crapes, as far as I know don't produce these. Lilacs do. But they can be propagated.

The ones at my friends house produce plants a few feet away from the main plant. That's how I got the crape myrtles in the pictures. After I dug up the runners, more sprouted in their place.

This is dynamite red. Localling, best months for color of these is August and September.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:270672}}

Thanks for that link. I'm definitely going to look for one next year.