Crepes and Crape Myrtles

One meaning of crepe being defined as “a light, thin fabric with a wrinkled surface,” crape myrtle is aptly named. The petals of the blossom are anything but flat and/or thick, not that you can identify an individual petal of an individual blossom. The cumulative effect is what makes the beauty. The effect is akin to hundreds of colorful tissue papers stuffed through chicken wire holes—a parade float. Lagerstroemia indica is the main lineage of crape myrtles, although several other species have been bred into the commercial trade to produce a variety of desirable traits, dwarfing being one of them. The genus for this group of large shrubs/small trees honors a Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, who first introduced specimens of this oriental beauty to the west.

The crape myrtle fills a work-horse role that cannot be replaced by any one plant material. Here in Oklahoma the bloom period lasts from July till frost. Nothing else can do that in the all too often moisture dearth of an Oklahoma summer. I like the tall ones, but pick any size; with modern breeding programs you can find the right size for your specific spot. Colors range from pure white to deep purple, and every shade in between. A couple of years ago we bought a red and white two-tone. The specimen pictured here has no certified pedigree. I snipped a few green slips at a local Sonic Drive-in of a plant growing in the outdoor eating area, so we dubbed it Sonic. Our specimen is about eighteen feet high, and is likely to eventually reach twenty-five or so.

You may remember back in the spring the creamy-white flower clusters of arrowwod viburnum. Well, here is honey bees and other insects will make of such blossoms. This display won’t last long as summer progresses toward fall. The birds will begin to pick this shrub clean as other sources of food dries up and becomes more scarce.

It looks like we will be having a break from triple-digit temperatures this week end, so get out and work in your yard. Enjoy all that God has made, and give thanks. See you Sunday.