Discover the Perfect Crape Myrtle for Your Garden

DISCOVER THE PERFECT CRAPE MYRTLE FOR YOUR GARDEN

Every landscape needs a crape myrtle (or several) to show off beautiful, long-lasting blooms throughout summer. Whether you have a small garden or a large yard, there is a crape myrtle for you!

In this post, we will tell you how we classify crape myrtles, and we will share some of the most popular varieties in each classification.

CRAPE MYRTLE CLASSIFICATIONS

If you search the internet, you will find almost as many size classifications for crape myrtles as you will find crape myrtle varieties. At Marcum’s Nursery, we have adopted four distinct categories for crape myrtles based on their final mature size. We classify crape myrtles like this:

Miniature/Weeping Crape Myrtles: These sizes are perfect for small spaces and container gardening. Varieties in this category typically grow up to 3′ tall. Though small, miniature and weeping crape myrtles add a splash of color to patios, balconies, small gardens, and even landscape bed borders.
Dwarf Crape Myrtles: These compact beauties usually reach heights between 3′-8′. They are great for borders, hedges, as accent plants in the garden, and they don’t get too tall to be planted close to a standard eave.
Intermediate Crape Myrtles: Growing between 8′ to 15′ tall, these varieties are ideal for creating a stunning backdrop in larger gardens or for use as a small ornamental tree.
Standard Crape Myrtles: Standard varieties reach heights of over 15′. These size crape myrtles make a bold statement in the landscape, and they can even provide a bit of shade as well. Who says a tree can’t be ornamental and provide utility?

POPULAR CRAPE MYRTLE VARIETIES BY CLASSIFICATION

Miniature/Weeping Crape Myrtles: Pocomoke and Princess Lyla
Dwarf Crape Myrtles: The Enduring Summer™ Series
Intermediate Crape Myrtles: Ebony Flame
Standard Crape Myrtles: Dynamite, Red Rocket, and Natchez

Dividing Perennials Guide

Dividing perennials is an easy way to refresh your garden. By dividing perennials, you keep your garden from becoming overgrown, you help reinvigorate your flower show, and you fill in empty spaces in your garden (and maybe your neighbor’s garden, too!). Read on to learn more about dividing perennials to keep your garden looking its absolute best.

There are three main reasons to divide perennials:

Control the size of your plants – Rapidly spreading perennials can get out of control; dividing spreading perennials helps keep them in check. Plants that become too crowded from overgrowth are also more prone to pests and disease as they suffer from poor airflow.
Rejuvenate your plants – Dividing old plants can rejuvenate them adding vigor and more profuse blooms.
Increase the number of your plants – Division is really addition when it comes to your perennial garden! Gain additional plants by dividing to fill empty spaces in your garden or to share plants with your gardening friends.

WHEN TO DIVIDE

Most perennials benefit from dividing every three to five years. Generally speaking, division should take place in the season opposite the plant’s flowering season; it is best to divide spring and summer flowering perennials in the fall and fall flowering perennials in the spring. Dividing plants when they aren’t flowering allows the plant’s energy to be directed toward root development and leaf growth.

For fall division perennials, allow about six weeks from division to average first frost so plants can become established in their new homes. In central Oklahoma, late August to early September is a good time to divide spring flowering perennials.

Spring division can be started as soon as the growing tips of the plants have emerged. Don’t wait until temperatures rise too much to divide; it is best to allow time for roots to establish before temperatures become too hot stressing your newly divided plants.

WHICH PLANTS TO DIVIDE

Plants that are spreading to areas they aren’t wanted, plants with bald spots, and plants with flowers that are smaller and less abundant than are typical of the species (or subspecies) are great candidates for division (provided they are species that respond well to division).

Perennials with long taproots should not be divided. Other perennials reseed freely and therefore don’t require division. Be sure to research your species and subspecies of perennials before dividing to ensure you won’t cause stress to a plant that prefers to be undisturbed.

HOW TO DIVIDE

Prepare the area where you will be moving your new divisions before beginning. Bed preparation should include eliminating perennial weeds, adding an working organic matter into the soil, and amending with fertilizer and/or other nutrients as needed. (A simple soil test can determine whether and which amendments are needed.)

Water the plants to be divided a day or two before dividing and make every effort to divide them on a cool, cloudy day. Keep divisions moist never allowing them to dry out. Plant the divisions at the same depths they enjoyed in their previous location. When you have finished dividing and replanting, water each plant with a starter fertilizer to reduce shock and to help the new plants root in and get established quickly.

How you divide your perennial depends on which type of root system they have as well. There are several types of root systems, but three groups cover perennials planted in most gardens – clumping, spreading, and woody.

CLUMPING PERENNIALS

Clumping perennials grow from a central clump – called a crown – which grows bigger each year producing offsets. They also develop an extensive root system that benefits from division every two to three years to prevent problems associated with overcrowding.

To divide clumping perennials, dig up the entire plant starting a good distance from the center to minimize root damage. Once you have dug up your clumping perennials, loosen the roots to determine where to make divisions. Often there will be obvious divisions; sometimes you will have to exercise your best judgement. Always make sure there is a healthy amount of foliage and root system for each division. The roots of clumping perennials tend to be thick and fleshy, so a soil knife, clippers, or other tool might be necessary to cut through the root system.

Hostas, daylilies, guara, astilbe, and many ornamental grasses are examples of clumping perennials.

SPREADING PERENNIALS

Spreading perennials grow by surface or underground roots or stems. These plants’ shoots originate from many locations, and they can often look like separate plants with their own crown and root systems. Dividing spreading perennials can keep those that are more invasive from taking over a space, and it can keep them from crowding out their own centers.

To divide spreading perennials, simply dig up the portion of the plant you want to move making sure to get at least three to five vigorous shoots in each division.

Examples of spreading perennials include lamium, bee balm, creeping phlox, and perennial vinca.

WOODY PERENNIALS

Woody perennials often have rooted layers meaning they had a branch from the original plant that rested on the soil and developed its own root system.

To divide woody perennials, cut the stem that runs between the original plant and the new plant, dig up the new plant, and move it to its new home.

Lavender, rosemary, and thyme are examples of woody perennials.

GIVE IT A GO!

With a little research, perennial division can be performed successfully by even the most novice gardener. This fall, why not give it a try on your spring and summer flowering perennials?! Chances are that your garden will reward you with healthier, happier, and more abundant perennials.

Pretty Pretty Petunias

PRETTY PRETTY PETUNIAS

Petunias are one of the most popular annual garden flowers for use in borders and containers. In fact, the Proven Winners® list of its ‘Top 50 Best Selling Annuals’ awards the top three slots to a petunia variety. And it’s not hard to see why…

Petunias are prolific bloomers;
They come in a variety of colors;
They can be striped, veined, spotted or solid;
Some have single blooms while others have double blooms;
Some have smooth petals while others are more ruffled;
Some cascade while others mound beautifully in the landscape.

In other words, there is a petunia for every gardener!

PETUNIA TIPS

Petunias are some of the earliest annuals available at Marcum’s Nursery. In Oklahoma, petunias provide spring blooms that last into summer. Extreme summer heat can temporarily cause blooming to stop, but – if cared for properly – petunias will often bloom again in the fall.

Here are the keys to having success with petunias this season!

LIGHT

Generally petunias prefer full sun, meaning at least six hours of direct sunlight most days, to bloom abundantly. However, as summer temperatures rise, moving petunia baskets or pots to a spot with partial shade (especially shade from the strong afternoon sun) is a welcome reprieve.

PRUNING

Older petunia varieties require deadheading for continuous bloom while many modern, hybrid varieties are self-cleaning. Pinching back the tips will promote more branching, and you can always prune plants that become lanky and pull off spent blooms.

WATER

Like most annuals, petunias don’t like to be dry for too long; they also don’t like to sit in soggy soil potentially rotting their roots. Consistent watering is crucial to getting maximum blooms for most annuals, and petunias are certainly no exception.

The amount of water needed varies based on multiple factors: temperature, wind, humidity, soil composition and whether planted in landscape beds, pots or hanging baskets. Set a schedule to check on and care for your flowers, and don’t allow the top couple inches of soil get dry.

Here are a few Pro Tips around watering:

Some of our most successful clients report setting a daily reminder on their phone helps them stay on top of checking in on and caring for their hanging baskets and pots.
Soil Moist™ granules absorb water and gradually release it into drying soil. This can help your potted petunias better survive a period of neglect.
If you have an area you want to look really nice but that you don’t access each day, like a front porch for example, consider investing in an AquaPots® planter. AquaPots® are high-quality and durable, they come in timeless colors and designs, and they practically water and fertilize plants for you!

FERTILIZATION

Fertilizer is food! If you want petunias bursting with blooms, you have to feed them.

Petunias planted in landscape beds don’t have to be fed as often because their roots can spread out to find the nutrients they need in the soil. To get petunias in beds off to a good start at the time of planting, use Marcum’s Nursery Redbud Compost and a slow release fertilizer, such as Marcum’s Nursery Flower Food (14-14-14) or ferti-lome® Premium Bedding Plant Food (7-22-8), then feed them on 30 day intervals.

Petunias in pots and hanging baskets require more food to bloom repeatedly. For example, the hanging baskets in our greenhouses get a low dose of balanced fertilizer each day; however, you don’t have to fertilize daily to produce beautiful blooms. Many fertilizers only need to be used on 7-14 day intervals. Some water soluble fertilizer options include ferti-lome® All Purpose Water Soluble Plant Food (20-20-20), ferti-lome® Blooming & Rooting Soluble Plant Food (9-58-8) and Marcum’s Nursery Bloom Max™ (10-55-10). A couple of liquid organic options are ferti-lome® Fish Emulsion Fertilizer (5-1-1) and Fox Farm® Big Bloom® Liquid Plant Food (0-0.5-0.7). Be sure to check your fertilizer label for application instructions.