Crape Myrtle Watch 080507

Thought I'd do a weekly update on how the crape myrtles are coming along.

Actually, the first one started to break dormancy a week or so ago, but I wasn't confident enough with the macro setting on my new digital camera to try to document it. Anyway, here we are, with the lagerstroemias planted in the new bed by the front sidewalk:

Here's one "New Orleans" mini:

Here's the other:

Here's the "Pixie White," with some red buds bursting and showing some green:

And the "Bayou Marie," with the red leaf buds beginning to unfurl:

The "Velma's Royal Delight" up in the border next to the house isn't doing anything yet. I'm hoping that's because it gets more shade and the ground is cooler there. That's the one specimen I really want to work; the rest are what-the-heys due to the six-plant mininum order.

Called the seller down in Florida to ask what I should expect. He told me crape myrtles don't get going till the ground warms up, which may explain why the little "New Orleans" specimens were first to break dormancy: they didn't have to be planted as deep. I should give Velma until the end of the month, then call back if nothing's doing by then.

The interesting thing is that some friends of mine piggybacked on my order, getting three crape myrtle trees. I left them a message over the weekend: "Check your crape myrtles! Mine are breaking dormancy!" Talked to Steve* last night and he told me flat out, "Two of those crape myrtles are dead." How did he know? "It was brittle." Yeah, and the old branches on the ones I have that are leafing out are brittle, too. "The roots were dry, too. I know," he said, "I pulled them up."

Ouch. I'm thinking he jumped the gun, but considering he's yanked them already, there's no good my saying so.