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| Hi everybody- I am seeking advice on growing crape myrtle trees here in Reno NV. Everywhere I look on the internet says they should grow in my zone, but not a single local nusery carries them or will order them for me. They all tell me its too cold. But again, evey internet seller say zone 7 no problem. While I realize that there are lots of different crapes, Is there an absolute temp. they can survive? We just had a 9 degree night a few days ago, but that is fairly rare here. I just purchased a few online and am wondering if I wasted my money. The crapes I bought say the color and the size (12 ft) but not the species name. Any help is very much appreciated. Jason |
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- Posted by cheryl 5(haroldandcher17222@yahoo.com) onMon, Mar 7, 11 at 19:46
| I never lived out west so I can't say for sure but zone 7 lows, even the occasional single digit dip isn't going to kill the hardier cultivars. They're numerous cultivars. Some do better, even into z6 than others. I think the problem with your climate may be more to do with being too arid. Crepe myrtles do well in humid climates and will need irrigation if you don't get much precipitation throughout the growing season. Aside from that I'd be surprised if you couldn't grow them. |
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- Posted by famartin z5 NE NV (famartin1@yahoo.com) on Tue, Mar 8, 11 at 0:22
| The average annual low at Reno Airport during the last 30 years is 4 degrees... zone 7A. In that time the lowest temperature reported was -16 degrees. The average growing season (freeze free period) is about 155 days (May 10 - October 12). Mind you, Reno Airport is a warm locale right near downtown. If you take a more outlying area like, say, Carson City, which is probably also representative to the more suburban parts of Reno, you get somewhat different results. In Carson City, the average annual low during the past 30 years is -2 degrees... zone 6B. In that time the lowest temperature reprted was -22 degrees. The average growing season (freeze free period) is about 131 days (May 21 - September 29). I suspect that its the colder climate in the suburbs, combined with the short growing season, which precludes nurseries from offering Crape Myrtle for sale in and around Reno. |
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- Posted by cheryl 5(haroldandcher17222@yahoo.com) onTue, Mar 8, 11 at 9:44
| Oh yeah. That's a REAL short growing season. Find something better adapted, my dear. |
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- Posted by JasoninReno 7 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 8, 11 at 11:39
| Thank you for the responses....I guess I should have done some more research and listened to my local nusery's. Oh well....However, sinse I've already purchased the trees, I guess I'll look into how to make them survive. I am planning to espalier them into a privacy screen between my neighbor and I. They put up a less then atractive play center for their kids that is only about 5 feet from the fence and a good few feet taller. I am thinking I could put up a winter cold frame around the trees filled with straw to at least fence height. The area they'll be planted will be about 15 feet long and two feet off the fence. Putting up a cold frame may be a bit of work, but it would only be twice a year (once up, once down). See any reason this would not work? I REALLY want to grow these beautiful trees. Thanks. Jason |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Tue, Mar 8, 11 at 21:46
| All of Nevada is strange. Elevation issues, arid, very attractive landscape but different than the southeast. On my property the warmest spots are on the west side of my house in the sun, by the dryer vent. Bonus if you have a spot light that shines on the area. It isn't supposed to help trees out much with photosynthesis....but it couldn't hurt. I figure Hosta's there last the longest in the fall so perhaps that will help a Crape. |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/SS 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 8, 11 at 22:47
| They put up a less then atractive play center for their kids that is only about 5 feet from the fence and a good few feet taller. I am thinking I could put up a winter cold frame around the trees filled with straw to at least fence height. Nature doesn't care about your problems. It would be cheaper to cut your losses and do some research on what is adapted to your area. Dan |
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| Perhaps you could find another location for your crapes. It wouldn't be a good idea to assign an important 'job' for plants which may not be up to the task. Plant them in a location where it won't matter so much if they croak. I would be looking for something evergreen, coniferous or broad-leaf, to take on this role. Another problem that no one has brought up is that you purchased trees that nor NOT named hybrids. This could very well mean that they are seedling plants from unknown heritage, which are almost always of inferior quality. Crape myrtles can be terribly prone to powdery mildew and to aphids, something that most of the hybrids are very resistant to. Unnamed seedlings are also not likely to have the beautiful winter 'bones' that the hybrids do, nor will they have pretty fall color. SURELY someone has a good gambling analogy for this situation! lol Anyway, spending good money on a crape myrtle that is labeled 'red' or 'pink' is not a wise bet. |
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| First, Reno NV is not zone 7. According to all local nurseries and books I've read, Reno is zone 5, the upper hills where we live above Reno-we are zone 4. I too wanted to plant crepe myrtles as soon as we moved to NV but was told they don't do well here, not only due to dry air, short spring/summer but also the soil. As disappointed as I was to learn this, I have to realize I will never have the California country garden in Reno (even though we are not in city limits). I'm now struggling with the fact that I can barely grow flowers unless they are in TALL pottery as the rabbits have eaten hundreds of dollars of flowers I've planted over the years. I have friends that have a nice backyard garden with flowers but they dug a few feet below their fence line, installed some sort of wire/mesh that goes 3 feet below dirt level and at least 3 feet above to keep rabbits out. The little dickens can jump a low fence or rock wall. |
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