Crape Myrtle

This versatile bush/shrub/hedge/ tree is just great. It has colourful flowers with curled crepe paper-like petals. The colours range from white, pink, yellow, red and purple. They like the heat and are okay with a little dry. Moderate watering and good drainage is recommended.

However, what I like most is that it can be any of the ways I mentioned above. If you want a bush, don't trim it from the base of the plant. Obviously do the regular trimming once a year to keep it thick. It will form a bush with long branches, heavy with the flower clusters.

Planted close together, they form a nice thick hedge. Trimming applies as if a bush. However, if the new growth is trimmed from the the base of the plant, focusing the main growth on three or four strong thick middle branches, it will form into a tree. See extra information on pruning here:

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1009.htm

The Crape Myrtle grows everywhere in North Florida and reminds me of a time I spent living in Jacksonville. I still have a lot of family, friends and memories there, so these in the yard make me feel close.

On a trip recently to Las Vegas to see a dear friend, I saw them planted on the roadside verges. Of course, they were watered by sprinkler systems, but if they can grow in the desert, they can grow here - in any form you may choose!