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maggiepie11_gw

which crape myrtle variety is this?

maggiepie11
9 years ago

is anyone a crape expert? can someone identify the variety of crape that we have here? our new build contract specified the type we wanted (choctaw, only because a light bubble gum pink wasn't available so he talked us into the choctaw). The landscaper planted the wrong variety not once but twice (leaving the tags identifying them as Sioux) and then finally planted these before they were in bloom and at least wisened up to take the tags off the trees so if they were the wrong variety, we couldn't tell right away. :)

i'm done griping about the landscaper, but we'd like to plant 5 matching crapes on the opposite property line and just need to know which type to buy if he didn't plant what he said he planted.

appreciate your help!

here's the bark (today): {{gwi:400023}}

and a full body shot:
{{gwi:400024}}

the up close photo of the blooms i took today look way too saturated in color so i am not posting it. if that's critical to make a determination i can take another photo.

Comments (3)

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    9 years ago

    I don't think there is any way to make a reasonably certain ID with only pictures via GardenWeb. You might come a little closer if you took a sample bloom and visited a local nursery with blooming crape myrtles in stock. Color isn't the only thing you'd need to consider, but may be the main characteristic you'll be able to use. Color can vary quite a bit on an online picture and depends on both your end and ours. It would probably GREATLY help if you knew where they came from. Most suppliers would only carry a limited number of cultivars, and you could evaluate each one of the possibilities.

    I do notice that you are on the verge of loosing some of the trunks because of the improper way they trunks are being bound and strangled! With all the prominent electrical gadgets, I'd guess you've spent a small fortune getting these crape myrtles installed, but honestly, I would not be real happy with the job. If the lanky trunks will not stand up without being tied, they should at least be tied correctly and with the ability to move a little bit so they can eventually be taken off their crutches.

  • maggiepie11
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    thanks brandon. i was afraid it wouldn't be easy to identify, especially because it's in a color family similar to so many crapes. we have no idea the source of the trees, and i won't even get into the worst of the landscaping saga, but it doesn't surprise me in the least that the job looks shoddy, even from an online photo.

    we just relocated to texas from new england so crapes are new to us. they feel very solid - would you recommend just removing the "crutches" now that the strong spring storms are done here in tx?

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    9 years ago

    If the installer won't tell you where they came from, stop by a local upper-end nursery. Tell them what happened and ask them where they think the plants could have come from. I'll bet there aren't that many likely possibilities. If you were around here, I could narrow it down pretty quickly for you, but I can't do it for your area.

    I would remove the ties immediately. The stakes would go completely if the trunks would stand on their own (they probably won't). If they won't I'd restake them properly.