Crepe myrtle, the blooming belle of the South, needs help in a dry climate

On my continuing travels through Louisiana, I have noticed that few homes have anything that resembles a garden with shrubs and flowering plants artfully arranged. The more common gardening feature is the lawn, a large mowed green area around the home. Upon taking a closer look, I realized that many “lawns” are simply native grasses and other low growing plants sheared to slightly above ground level. It is an act of self-defense. Extremely fast-growing native shrubs and trees take over every space that is not regularly cut back in this hot, damp climate.

Crepe myrtle trees Opelousas Louisiana — A garden has been planted around the Oplousas Louisiana courthouse including purple and pink Crepe myrtles.

The exception to this emphasis on lawns, are the Crepe myrtle trees (Lagerstroemia indica) planted by homeowners. They are ubiquitous.

These natives of southern China were introduced into Charleston, South Carolina by plant explorer and botanist to King Louis XVI, André Michaux, in the mid 1700s. The name is sometimes spelled Crape myrtle, but Crepe myrtle now seems preferred. Whatever the spelling, they took the South like wildfire. People loved them.

hot pink crepe myrtle flowers — This hot pink color seems to be the most popular Crepe myrtle. It is a bright contrast to the green of the South and the brown of the southwest.

And Crepe myrtles loved the heat, lots of sunlight and the slightly acidic soil.

Some newer hybrids have been developed to tolerate chillier winter conditions, including frost. And–surprisingly–they are somewhat drought tolerant.

Correcting alkaline soil conditions

It’s that “acidic soil” part that is an issue in a hot, dry climate. Most of the soils in the desert Southwest are alkaline, but alkaline soils can be corrected to a soil condition that Crepe myrtles love in two ways:

Add 4 to 6 inches of organic mulch and dig it in to a depth of one foot. Within a year or two the soil will become more neutral. Mulch should be added every year.
Add sulphur to the soil and dig it in which will also balance the pH. While this maybe a faster way to rebalance soil, be very careful with this because too much sulphur can be harmful.

And be sure to deep water your Crepe myrtle tree at least once a month in summer. Drought tolerant doesn’t mean “no-water-required.”