New Crape Myrtle

patmac

I've been fondling this tree for several months during visits to my local Bonsai nursery. After many attempts to forget about the tree, finally it followed me home.
I'm the 4th owner of this Crape Myrtle. It has been in my club for 30+ years.
But only for the past 4 years has it been in a Bonsai pot.
I did a little pruning, wiring and cleaning of nebari.

The kicker is, I'm told it has never flowered! How can that be?

The tree is 15" tall, the trunk is 3" across at base and the pot is an 18" oval.

Patrick McCaffrey

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rockm

It's not surprising that it hasn't flowered. It looks to have been pruned pretty hard, probably at the wrong time. Crapes flower on NEW growth, that means you have to let it grow unpruned to get blooms.

Crape owners unfamiliar with the growth habits tend to prune off new growth to retain the plant's bonsai shape. New growth has to grow to relatively long towering spikes on the plant to set blossoms. That means the plant can look very "unbonsailike" for long periods in the active growth season...

Unless you're using one of the miniature cultivars of crape that has short bloom spikes and smaller flowers, you haveto be patient and endure pretty long spiky shoots on the plant for a while...

JohnQuinn

Marc's advice is of course correct. Here in SC you can prune in the usual fashion until about mid to late June and still have some flowering on the subsequent new growth. With a shorter growing season, that deadline may be earlier.

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bwaynef

Last year I wanted to see my Crape flower but didn't want to let the tree run rampant either. I allowed one branch to grow unrestricted (with the added benefit of closing a scar) and flower mostly to see what color it was, while constantly trimming the rest of the tree back.

If you just want to see the tree flower while still developing it, this might be an option for you?

WF

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patmac

The pruning was done by myself just a couple of days ago. After reading here that now was a good time to prune.
I found it odd that in 30+ years, not just this year, it’s never flowered.
After doing some research I've found that there are several possible reasons.
Not enough direct sunlight, excess fertilization, a late frost, and the most common one is untimely or incorrect pruning.
Anyways, wish me luck for next year. I would love to be the first to see some flowers on this tree. As long as it doesn't get to far out of shape.

Patrick McCaffrey

rockm

Here in the hot humid swamp of D.C. and its environs , Crape myrtle are the last plants to get started in the spring, often waiting until late May or even June to push alot of new foliage.

They grow best when temperatures are over 90, preferably higher--and very humid. They don't bloom until the hottest part of the year. If it's really hot for over a month or so, they bloom two or three times. They love direct sun and alot of heat.

patmac

Now this would explain why it has never flowered here in Vermont!

Crape Myrtle For Sale cheap! Send PM for inquiry.

Just kidding.

Actually, ahhhhh honey did I mention I needed a greenhouse to go with that tree.