Once established, crape myrtles become quite drought tolerant. Please educate yourself and follow these simple rules.Ĭaring for your Ornamental - Crape Myrtle General care for any tree or shrub is easy, but like any living thing will require your attention. compared to other crape myrtles the Cherry Dazzle is slower growing, but can reach 3 to 5 feet if not pruned.Ĭherry Dazzle keeps a shrub like form, which makes it perfect for a shrub border, a backdrop in front of a fence, lining a drive, or planting on the corner of a house. The leaves of crape myrtles are a unique glossy red/green. These red crape myrtles produce 4 ” to 6” clusters of red flowers that can last for many weeks or even months. The blooms of a crape myrtle are a magnificent display that attract flocks of hummingbirds and butterflies through the summer months. These compact crape myrtles are a very fast growing shrub that fills with gorgeous clusters of bright red blooms from July to September, and both beautiful, hearty, and very drought resistant once established.
Cherry dazzle crape myrtle series#
In warmer areas, many can be grown as trees, but in colder climates they may be killed to the ground but re-sprout from below ground to be grown more as shrubs.Cherry Dazzle® part of the Razzle Dazzle® series of dwarf crape myrtles will give you all the best qualities of a crape myrtle in a compact shape with enhanced disease resistance and cold heartiness. They are grown for their very showy, lovely summer to fall bloom. Lagerstroemia is a genus of about 40 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees from warm-temperate to tropical areas of Asia to Australia. Don’t over prune in the beginning – make the basic cuts and then allow the plant to grow, and continue shaping over time. Make cuts on long, leggy limbs to encourage branching. Then remove lateral branches on the bottom half of the tree. To achieve a graceful tree shape that shows off the lovely bark, first remove all but 3-5 strong trunks. Instead, buy a 7′ variety, and you will find yourself with an incredibly low-maintenance plant.
Buy the right variety to fit the space! If you buy a 15′ variety and try to keep it 7′ tall, you will prune yourself silly. The best decision about the size of your Berry Dazzle Crape Myrtle is made when you buy it. Most growers and researchers agree that only light pruning is necessary for plenty of blooms, so the choice is really yours. Other gardeners decry this method as “crape murder” and adopt a less aggressive approach that conforms more to the natural size and shape of the plant. This is useful if you want a uniform border and height control, but it can result in bunchy growth and knobby stems that may be more susceptible to aphids and disease. Some gardeners like to lop off all stems at a uniform height each year, leaving branch stubs in the winter that flush out into a ball of growth in the spring. There are two schools of thought, and quite a bit of debate, about larger pruning jobs.