Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Thursday - March 26, 2009
From: Chandler, AZ
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Failure to bloom of non-native crepe myrtle
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have a white crepe myrtle that never bloomed last year..my pink ones were beautiful. What can I fertilize with to promote blooming for the white one? And, yes, it is in the sun!ANSWER:
While there is a crape myrtle native to North America, Malpighia glabra (wild crapemyrtle), it is native only to Texas and is a member of the Malpighiaceae (Barbados Cherry) family. It is therefore not even closely related to Lagerstroemia indica, which is native to temperate and tropical Asia. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the care and propagation of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they grow naturally, which places this out of our range of expertise. We can, however, refer you to a Floridata website, Lagerstroemia indica, which should give you some more information on the culture of your plants. We can also advise you NOT to fertilize until you explore some more possibiities for the non-bloom, as over-fertilizing creates abundant foliage at the expense of blooms, especially high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer. It is possible that your white crape myrtle is situated where regular lawn fertilizing is causing it receive an overdose of nitrogen.
More Non-Natives Questions
Identification of stem from a bouquet
January 02, 2012 - I have a stem with leaves that came in a bouquet May 2011. They are still healthy in a vase of water tho they have no roots, just stem. On the back center of each leaf are protrusions half an inch lon...
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Use of non-native Indian Mustard for reducing lead in soil
February 07, 2007 - The EPA phytoremediation documents say lead contamination can be reduced with Brassica juncea:
"Successful Reduction of Lead Contamination.
Phytoextraction was demonstrated at a site in Tren...
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Esperanza failing to bud out in Georgetown TX
March 28, 2010 - I planted esperanza shrubs last summer and they did well. I did not prune them back in the winter. They are not showing any signs of life (No greenery) Will the plants start to form leaves and flow...
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Secretions of fluid from crepe myrtles
June 09, 2008 - On my crepe myrtle tree I have dozens of 1/2-inch-long narrow bugs that seem to secrete tiny drops of fluid. They appear on the branches of the tree. Are these harmful to the tree? Do I need to do ...
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Seeking information on Crateeva asiatica, non-native herbal medicine
September 29, 2007 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
I had a look at your website in hope of finding information about the plant Crateeva asiatica. Could you kindly help me to locate the information for the same?
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