I covered the variegated ginger with bedsheets when frost was forecasted, but got mixed results. The plants that suffered frost damage rebounded well, and the plants are about 4 feet tall and look great. Any suggestions for this winter? I've heard locals suggest covering the plants with Christmas light nets as an alternative to bed sheets.
ANSWER: A combination of small, incandescent Christmas lights and a covering of bed sheets or plastic would provide the best protection. Most people just let these gingers freeze and cut them back in the spring. They come back fine, as you've seen. But you do lose the nice appearance until they grow back, and protecting them is an option.
Edit Close. Toggle navigation. Crape myrtle NOLA. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission. The keys to success with crape myrtles include adequate sunlight, slightly acidic soil pH, good drainage, proper pruning, adequate fertilization, mulching and insect control. Crape myrtles need full sun — at least eight hours or more of direct sun daily — to thrive and bloom. Crape myrtles will not be their best with less than eight hours of direct sunlight, so gardeners should check the sun patterns in their yards before choosing the right spot to plant crape myrtles.
Soil pH is an important factor in making sure your crape myrtles flourish. Crape myrtles thrive in slightly acidic soils with a pH of about 6 to 6. If that level is off, the gardener will be left with substandard plants.
Before planting, have your soil tested by your local Extension office to properly prepare your site. Some trees may not need to be pruned. Prune the trees so that they maintain a natural shape, and thin out branches to allow light into the canopy.
Do not just cut off the top of your crape myrtle trees. Once the crape tree has been established, you can start maintenance mode fertilization. In the maintenance mode of Crepe Myrtle's fertilization, you use or fertilization formula. Reduce the fertilization of Crape Myrtles to once a year during the springtime.
The over-feeding causes the plant to grow more foliage than the flower. As a general rule, annually, you should start fertilization of Crape Myrtles in early spring when the leave buds appear.
You should water Crape Myrtles after fertilization so the soil can easily absorb the nutrients and spread it over the root. After a summertime when the blooming stops and the fall comes, you should get your Crape Myrtles tree ready for the winter. In the fall, stop fertilizing and reduce the watering of the plant. Adding much fertilizer or water in the latent period of Crape Myrtles will not do any good to the plant.
Many people get unhappy that their Crape Myrtles did not bloom properly. To make Crape Myrtles bloom to its fullest, you have to prune it when it is dormant. For a single trunk tree, cut the side branches to allow the single trunk to get active and be able to use all the nutrients during the growing season. For Multi-trunk trees, prune the branches, so it does not become overcrowded or branches touch each other. This results in a tree to use all the resources back into growing new branches and leaves rather than blooming flowers.
If you are looking to transplant Crepe myrtles either as a new plant or the existing plant, then there are several ways you can do it.
The roots of Crepe Myrtles should be dug in early spring and plant it where desired. Typically, this kind of plantation results in weak growth of Crepe Myrtles due to root inconsistency. The Crepe Myrtles planting zone is 2 to 5 if planted in a planter and brought inside in winter. To grow Crepe Myrtles from seed, wait for the flower to ripen in fall and convert into a seed capsule. Once ready, you can peel the seed capsule and collect the seeds which you can dry and store in a sealed container.
You do not need any pre-treatment of seeds and germination starts three weeks after sowing.
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