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| I brought a crepe myrtle zuni indoors last year with hopes to plant it outside this year. I just looked at it and noticed it has started growing. Does anyone think it's too early for it to start growing this time of year? What time of year do crepe myrtles in Florida break dormancy? |
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| It's growing because you brought it inside. Under normal Southern winter conditions, Crape myrtles are one of the very last of the deciduous plants to begin to bud. I can't even begin to tell you how many times people have asked me IF or told me THAT their Crape is dead. So, you see a lot of Crape myrtles growing in your community? :-) |
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| Ditto what Rhizo said. First, I think your winter zone is too cold for long term success. They are hardy down to about zone 6b but with some dieback, at zone 7 there will be little if any dieback but zone 5---I Idon't think so. They are normally LATE to leaf out and seem to wait till real heat to get going--like June or July (esp. if winter damaged or you live in a coastal climate where the seasons are delayed. You could grow it as a containerized plant and protect it in the winter (but NOT in your house--it would need someplace chilly-cold but without hard frost as it's more cold sensitive in a container. Zuni is one of my favorites by the way--love those lavender/magenta flowers. You cannot in any event put it out now as it will not be harded off to the winter (even in a zone 7 /8 climate). P.S., Not sure when they leaf out in North Florida, and not sure how far down the peninsula they will grow.--I don't really recall seeing any in South Florida. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 17, 12 at 13:41
| and i have never seen a CM in my z5 MI ... it can go outside around 6/1 [after last frost/freze] ... and that is why you are in trouble with it breaking dormancy now ... 3 months is a long time for growth.. indoors ... ken |
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| I overwinter a number of them in my converted garage every year. I don't heat it, so it ranges between about 40 to about 50, surviving on air circulation from the heated house it's attached to. Mine always break dormancy in March. There is moderate to low light out there, and the new growth is extremely weak and stringy and tender. I chuck them outside by mid April. The new growth either wind and sun burns off or is killed by frost/freezes. It doesn't matter an iota. They are such rampant, vigorous growers they sprout right back. And, of course, they bloom on NEW WOOD, so you want a lot of new growth. If you just keep it cool, give it moderate to bright light, keep it watered just enough to keep it from drooping, and then pop it outside after danger of severe cold is over (shelter it if its going to drop below 30 at night), it will be just fine. Oh, I have some in-ground CM's as well. They've been in close to 10 years now. They function as dieback perennials here, coming up from the root system. They bloom once in a while, many years only getting to the bud stage when fall frosts take them. The last couple of years, with the hotter summers, I actually had good floral displays on them in late summer/early autumn. They generally get to about 4 feet tall. Even in the years they don't bloom, the somewhat glossy foliage is attractive. Mine are sited in the open, if I had a nice, southern exposure brick or stone wall where they could bake in the sun and heat, I'm sure I'd get more blooms in that kind of favorable micro-climate, but alas, my walls are all grey-white vinyl siding, and I have large shade trees on the southern exposure side of the house. |
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| You asked when crApe myrtles in FL break dormancy, but I noticed your member info says you are in IL. Are you just asking because you think the climate indoors might be closer to FL than to IL, or is there something else we need to know? When you say you brought it indoors, are you saying into a heated house or into an unheated garage, etc? |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Fri, Feb 17, 12 at 19:37
| Keep it where it is with maybe trips outside on warm days until at least May. I have a Dynamite outside here in zone six. Darn big box store sold it to my wife. Poor thing gets some dieback every year. In march I am moving it up near the house. If it still dies back every year I will saw it to the ground in the fall like a perennial. |
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- Posted by Springpatch77 5b (My Page) on Sat, Feb 18, 12 at 0:17
| I've seen about 6 last year that I know survived our winter which was extremely severe. One of them was mine. I have a dynamite cm that survived and looked awesome in august. it's in a se corner of the house protected from north and west winds also it is next to the house. It all died except down to the roots but grew back great by the end summer. But I have seen at least one (pink flowers) neither protected from wind or next to the house that came back last summer. A zuni was even planted outside at McDonalds last year. I've seen quite a few in St. Louis. I can say that the lady at Lowes was surprised when I said mine survived b/c she said she tried every spot in her yard and none survived. She also said that she had tons of customers return and say that their cm had died. Could it be good genes? |
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| I'd say that it was good luck, rather than good genes. Seriously. And it appears that your little microclimate helped a lot, too. |
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- Posted by viburnumvalley z5/6 KY (My Page) on Sat, Feb 18, 12 at 7:19
| For a hardier-than-average white flowered form, give 'Sarah's Favorite' a try. She's a tough old bird. I've had mine since 1992, and - except for the Jan. 1994 -28F insult - it has had no dieback here at the Valley. We have many more younger 'SF' propagules flourishing. 'Hopi' is a hardier pink selection out of the USNA's excellent program that has done fine here, too. |
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| It's entirely possible to have regular good flowering from crepe myrtles in zone 5b. Good microclimate and protection (especially in early years) is important and so are the varieties selected. I have seed-grown dwarf crepes that get up to four feet tall in a season, are shrubby and loaded with blooms (see photo below, foreground at left). After a mild winter (like this one, hopefully), a couple feet of woody growth will survive, leading to earlier flowering. The standard varieties only get to about 5-6 feet at best here and flowering is spotty, but if they were sited more optimally and protected in winter they'd probably perform better.
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- Posted by Springpatch77 none (My Page) on Mon, Feb 20, 12 at 0:03
| eric_oh, last year we watered ours almost daily, which helped because of the extreme heat, and it had really nice flowers on it. You might try watering it more often to see if that makes a difference. |
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| Be careful not to water too much. Crape myrtles don't like "wet feet" at all. The frequency that you need to water can vary significantly with soil type. I know if I watered mine every day, they would not last long at all (my soil contains a moderate amount of clay). |
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