Help me plant my crape myrtle

[catherine]

Help!

My DS gave me a beautiful Dynamite crape myrtle for Mother's Day and I don't know where to plant it. Can you help? They grow to 15-20' and they are about the same in diameter.

Here is a photo of the permaculture site map I did for my class last year. I added "a" "b" "c" and "d" for where I'm thinking of planting it.

A: Is a little bit out towards the perimeter of the yard: offers some privacy from the baseball field/school parking lot, will be framed nicely by the mature maple/oaks but will still get full sun (which they need to get the bright blooms).

B: Is also on the perimeter of the yard. Will give privacy from people walking through the park, but it also will block the nice view I have of the trees in the park. Might also look like furniture pushed along the walls of the room with too many trees and bushes all in a row. BTW, this is where DS envisioned putting it.

C: Will make the tree work as a "patio tree" which some people say works well. Will offer some privacy from people walking through the park. May offer some shade for the house/reduce AC costs. But it might make the yard look unbalanced--too much stuff going on in one corner.

D: Also a "patio tree" approach. May also have the benefits of cooling the house. May serve as shade tree for outdoor seating. May also be unbalanced in terms of a lot of stuff going on near the house. And if someday someone (not me) wants to bump out the kitchen, they'd probably have to remove it.

Any thoughts?

Here's the picture--click to enlarge

Thanks! Any suggestions welcome.

1290

[pinkytoe]

I didn't think crapes grew up there!! My yard is a similar setup and I put one in the "a" spot so that it is "anchoring" the corner and gets lost of east am light. Quite beautiful in winter too as the bark is striated grey and brown - looks like bones. Right now, it is about 25 ft tall and full of white blossoms. I also like the b spot.

[catherine]

Thanks, pinkytoe!

[Blackdog Lin]

One thought: you don't HAVE to grow it as a huge bush. You can keep it trimmed as a "tree", like an accent tree, if that would work better in one of your spots. This is what I've done with the two we have. After the first year or two, identify 5 or 6 main trunks and tie them off together as compactly as possible about 2 feet off the ground (DH uses wire inside of old garden hose). Then cut down/trim off all new shoots at ground level, and all shoots below the 3-feet level. I only have to trim the existing trunks once every spring, but usually have to go back and cut out ground shoots again a second time later (actually this is on my list of things to do right now). To me it's just part of my pleasant spring garden puttering.

And you end up with a beautiful accent "tree", if that might work better than a big ol' beautiful bush.

[Tussiemussies]

Have seen a lot of this bush down in Cape May and a few up here, they are so pretty. Do they only come in the magenta color? From your diagram I think with your existing yard I would place it in area C. It leaves the rest of your yard nice and open as it is, most of your gardens seem to outline the yard in the back side sections

[peggy]

Have seen a lot of this bush down in Cape May and a few up here, they are so pretty. Do they only come in the magenta color? From your diagram I think with your existing yard I would place it in area C. It leaves the rest of your yard nice and open as it is, most of your gardens seem to outline the yard in the back side sections

They come in white too, and pink. I just planted one this spring that is a lovely light shell pink with coppery green leaves. Gorgeous! I did put it in a spot where I'll have to prune it, but I wanted something tall and flowering there. I'll probably trim it up to tree form as Blackdog Lin talks about.

[iris lilies]

Someone in my iris society is a local queen of crepe myrtles and she says they come in dozens of colors.

What I love aboaut them is that they are very drought tolerant and they are in full bloom at a time when my crops, iris and lilies, are done.

One downside here is that the Japanese beetles love them and during a beetle invasion, the crepe m's are covered. ick. But I suppose the presence of crepe m's keeps hte bugs off of my move loved plants.

[catherine]

Thanks for the tips, all. My crape is "Dynamite" so the blooms will be bright red. I also appreciate the tip on pruning it so that I can have a tree or more of a bushy tree.

Oh, well, I have to decide on the placement soon... I appreciate your thoughts!