hello guys, I got some Crepe Myrtle seeds about 3 years from Taiwan. (PS: Crepe Myrtle) Planted, and now i have a little bush. It's about 40-50cm tall. Used to keep it in a pot. But this spring I moved it directly into the garden. I am not sure how hardy it is... I am sure I have seen some bushes in a public park and during the winter they stayed outside, and now they have their leaves back and for sure will bloom soon. We get really freezing temps here, ice, snow...etc. But it looks like these bushes are hardy. Should I also leave mine outside? It would be too much trouble lifting it up, repotting and finding another spot for it for the winter. If I knew for sure it would survive the winter, I would just leave it outside... Waiting for any info on this... Thanks, Calin
Actually there is really no way of knowing for sure unless it does. There are so many varieties of Crepe Myrtle, some are more cold hardy than others. But even those can have trouble surviving winters in the northern or eastern regions of the U.S. unless they are moved into a warm shelter. Do you know for sure that yours is a shrub variety? If so I would leave it in a pot to take in during winter and not take the chance of loosing it. The one described in PlantStew is the Lagerstroemia indica, the most common one here in the south because of it's heat and drought tolerance. But it is not hardy north of the USDA zone 6.
Thanks Toni. It's already in the ground outside... but i will consider re-potting it and moving it inside for the harsh winter. Better safe than sorry Calin
well I am in NJ on the east coast and i know that mine lasted last winter and i had just planted it last summer. it is much larger than your plant though. it was about 4 feet tall when i bought it and is now about 5 ft tall.
well, it is just starting to bloom. i moved it twice this year... this late spring when i planted it outside (from its pot) and about a month ago, cause it didn't like the spot I chose... was a bit shady. now it's in full sun and likes it. i will not re-pot it in the fall. will just leave it outside... already got too many little trees that i have to re-pot and i wanna see if it can survive outside... maybe with some protection for the freezing winter. i saw some larger bushes in a park, and they did OK last winter.
Good luck with it .If you can be sure and put lots of deep leaves around it and heavy coat of mulch and bark and try to cover it with and outdoor shrub cover.It goes dormant and lots of people cut them back so they want grow to tall.After the fear of freezing is gone you can pull some of this away from the roots.
