I have a great Crepe Myrtle this season in a pot. It'll need to overwinter inside. So. questions because I've never had one I will do some clean up, and possibly spray, Should I trim it? What light exposure is good? Thanks for help...K
Hi Toni, I got this at the nursery where I work. Proven Winners shipped us a dozen by mistake. We sold them as patio plants. Tag says cold hardy to zone 8 SO I’ll bring it in to my house; I’m in Nebraska, so zone 5. Last year I left one at our office and it had bright east/north light and temp at around 60. I’m just curious about light and temp for it. It is probably a dwarf variety, it’s about 3 feet tall. ThanksK
The 4 I have are all over 30 ft tall. They were already 30' tall when we bought the house 32 years ago. I would think as long as it was in front of a sunny window it would do okay and maybe on warmer sunny days you could put it outside in full sun for a while. They really do not need to be trimmed back, you can cut back some of the longer limbs to fit the space you have available for them inside. I do have to cut back some of the limbs on the two out front since they are in the hell strip and the city requires a certain height above street level and over the sidewalk so if people want to park in the street the trees do not scratch their cars or they do not get hit in the face walking down the sidewalk. Many so called tree specialists think they have to be cut back in the fall but that can be deadly for the tree in the long run and it looks stupid when it grows back. It's called Crepe 'Murder' where all the limbs are cut back to the trunk, another form of trimming it is called Lion Tail....cutting off all the lower branches just leaving a 'puff ball' look at the top. Many years ago some of our neighbors were having theirs trimmed back and the tree specialists were knocking on the doors of all who had them in their yards offering to trim them back. A particular one came to my door and tried to get really pushy about having to cut mine back for the trees health. I told him to leave my trees alone or I would call the police, maybe not in that nice a tone. I think I was put on a "do not call" list cause they have not come to my door since.
LOL Toni - don’t mess with your crepe myrtle!!! Thanks for your in put, I’d add a pic but GS will not accept my iPhone shots and I can not figure out it have the smarts to solve that issue. I think this plant is pretty tough, but it is in a pot so will not survive my cold winter. I had nursery customers that say they have them in their landscapes (in the ground) probably in a protected spot. It’s been so pretty with continuous blooms of purple for weeks now! It’s going to get a spot in my almost full sun room!
