Spring is not the only season when you can find flowering shrubs and trees. One summer blooming favorite is the crape myrtle. If any plant is ideally suited for the southeast, it is the crape myrtle. It thrives in hot, sunny climates. Crape myrtles are excellent accent plants that can add year-round appeal to your landscape.

Prized primarily for their showy clusters of ruffled blooms, the flowers of the crape myrtle are available in several colors…white, pinks, reds and lavender. In addition to the lovely blooms, these deciduous plants produce vividly colored foliage in the fall. Classified as a large shrub or a small tree, many crape myrtles also have a multi-trunk structure and exfoliating bark which adds texture and interest to the winter landscape.

Plant crape myrtles in an area that receives full sun and has good water drainage. If rain is scarce, water the plants in moderate amounts throughout the growing season. Periodically, apply a fertilizer formulated for shrubs and trees, as directed on the package. You can prolong the flowering period by removing spent blooms as they occur. Depending on the variety, crape myrtles can range from 5 to 30 feet in height.

Crape myrtles produce their flowers on the current year's growth and pruning initiates new growth. In years past, we would chop away at our crape myrtles annually, removing up to one-half of the existing plant. We justified this drastic pruning because we thought that the more wood we removed, the more new growth would develop and the more blooms the crape myrtle would produce. Today, this method of pruning is sometimes referred to as "Crape Murder". Frequent, severe pruning often produces weak, spindly shoots that can't support the weight of the blooms. It can also ruin the framework of the plant over time. A better course of action is to prune only the dead wood, stray shoots and branches no larger than the circumference of your finger. Experts are divided on the best time to prune crape myrtles. I have always pruned in late winter, while the plant is still dormant. However, some experts now recommend that you prune in late summer after blooming is complete, believing that it gives the pruning wounds time to harden off before cold weather arrives.

While there may be some debate on how to prune these beauties, there is certainly no argument about their value in the landscape. Planted alone or in groups, crape myrtles are a welcome addition to any sunny, southern landscape.

There are scores of crape myrtle cultivars. Let's take a look at a few popular varieties…some are old favorites and some are newer selections.

CATAWBA displays long-lasting clusters of dark purple flowers. The foliage has a bronzy cast in spring, is bright green in summer and orange-red in fall. This variety forms a rounded dome 11 feet tall with an equal width.

CHICASAW is a true dwarf ground cover. It has a compact, mounding growth habit and grows to only 2 feet tall by 3 ½ feet wide. Blooms are pinkish-lavender and fall color is bronze-red.

NATCHEZ will grow to over 20 feet high with an equal width. The blooms are pure white, bark is cinnamon brown and fall foliage turns bronze to orange.

POCOMOKE has a unique dwarf size reaching only 3 to 5 feet tall at maturity. It displays dark rosy-pink blooms throughout the summer. The dark green leaves turn a rich, bronze-red in fall.

TONTO is a semi-dwarf shrub that grows to approximately 8 feet tall and wide. It produces beautiful fuchsia-red blooms and cream to gray-brown bark. Fall color is orange red to bright maroon.

ZUNI is a moderate grower reaching 9 feet tall by 8 feet wide at maturity. This variety features medium to dark lavender flower clusters and handsome gray peeling bark. It has excellent fall color that ranges from orange-red to maroon.