How to Care for a Crape Myrtle
A small tip for life, introducing how to care for a crape myrtle and the knowledge of green plant cultivation methods and skills. Let's learn about it together.
Many people are very familiar with crape myrtles, often seen in parks, and many people like to grow them in their yards or balconies. This plant is highly drought-resistant and can produce small, beautiful flowers, which are deeply loved by people. Today, I will introduce to you how to cultivate a crape myrtle.
I. Soil
If you want to grow a crape myrtle well, soil is very important. The crape myrtle bought from the market is best repotted, and you can use a mixture of field soil and river sand. It prefers well-drained soil and should not be too sticky. When potting young plants, place a 2 cm thick layer of coarse particle matrix or ceramsite at the bottom of the pot as a water-filtering layer, and sprinkle a layer of decomposed organic fertilizer on the soil surface as a base fertilizer. Make sure the fertilizer is separated from the roots to avoid root burn.
II. Light
Crape myrtles enjoy plenty of sunlight. They need it all year round, but during summer, they should be shaded. In the other three seasons, they can be placed in the sun to receive light. Sufficient sunlight can make the crape myrtle grow better, and during the flowering period, adequate sunlight helps extend the blooming period and makes the flower buds more colorful. If kept in a shaded place for a long time, it may only grow leaves and not flowers.
III. Water and Fertilizer
Crape myrtles are drought-resistant. In spring and autumn, water them once a week, increase the watering frequency in summer to every three or four days, and during the winter, as the crape myrtle enters a semi-dormant state, make sure the potting soil does not accumulate water, keep it dry to avoid root rot. Also, do not water too much during flowering, as this can easily cause flower and bud drop.
In the growing season, using diluted cake fertilizer every 20 days is sufficient, and there's no need to use too much fertilizer. When forming buds, you can add some phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to make the flowers more vibrant and attractive.
IV. Temperature
Crape myrtles prefer a warm environment and are not very cold-resistant. They will die if the temperature drops below 0°, so they should be kept indoors during winter, preferably maintaining a temperature of above 15° to ensure continuous blooming in winter. Crape myrtles are very suitable for indoor cultivation in northern regions during autumn and winter.
V. Morphological Characteristics of Crape Myrtle
Crape myrtle is a climbing shrub with dense conical thorns on its branches, ovate leaves, dichotomous compound inflorescences, several male flowers, one female flower, and petioles at the base of the inflorescence with membranous bracts. There are many horticultural varieties, with colorful flowers, sometimes with flowers on flowers, even several layers stacked. It has a unique nature, growing only about 10 cm each year but has a long lifespan, with potted plants living over 30 years.
VI. Methods to Improve Flower Quality
Applying paclobutrazol can dwarf crape myrtle plants, making the flowers larger and improving flower quality, with a concentration of 50-100ppm. Control pests and diseases, which are prone to stem blight and rot. Use 50% captan 800 times solution, spraying every half month. Pests include whiteflies and scale insects, which can be controlled with 50% fenvalerate emulsion 1500 times solution.
The above content introduces how to care for a crape myrtle and its cultivation methods and skills. I hope it can help you, and at the same time, I hope everyone will come to see more green plant experience and knowledge!