S & J Nursery’s Guide to
Growing
Pink Velour Crape
Myrtle
in the Northeast Florida Landscape
( Lagerstroemia indica ‘Pink Velour’)
Crape Myrtle Pink Velour Preferred
Exposure:
Pink Velour Crape Myrtle Foliage | Bark:
– Large green deciduous foliage of the pink Velour Crape Myrtle emerges a deep wine or burgundy red and matures to a reddish green color. Foliage turns yellow orange in the fall before falling off the tree for the winter.
Pink Velour Crape Myrtle Soil Preference / Salt Tolerance:
– Pink Velour Crape Myrtles do well in most soils providing they are well
draining.
– Crape Myrtles are not known to be salt tolerant and should not be planted in areas where salt spray will reach them from the ocean or where highly saline water is used for irrigating.
Pink Velour Crape Myrtle Size Variance:
– Pink Velour Crape Myrtle is one of the smaller growing selections and will
only grow up to 8-12 feet high and wide.
– Use Pink Velour Crape Myrtles where you have limited space that a larger
species would not be well suited to or you would have to trim back all of the time to keep it in scale you can still allow this variety to grow to its full potential without all the fuss.
Crape Myrtle Pink Velour Growth Habit:
– Upright vase shaped growth habit forms a pretty crown of blooming foliage.
Crape Myrtle Pink Velour Growth Rate:
– Pink Velour Crape Myrtles are a slower growing selection.
– Crape Myrtles growth rates are normally relative to their mature growth size, 30 ft tall Muskogee Crepe Myrtles will grow very quickly but Catawba that has a mature height of only 12 ft is much slower growing.
Pink Velour Crape Myrtle Bloom:
– Pink Velour Crape Myrtle blooms are a vibrant almost neon like rose pink
color. The bright pink color is a rich deep hue that is very eye catching and makes a dramatic landscape statement when in bloom. One of my personal favorite selections.
Crape Myrtle Pink Velour Water Requirements:
-Crepe Myrtles trees are drought tolerant after they are established in the
landscape but will need to be watered well after planting for two weeks to three months in the establishment period depending on the size of the tree being planted and during prolonged periods of drought after established
in the landscape.
Butterfly or Bird Attracting:
– n/a
Best Uses For Crape Myrtles:
– Few trees make quite the statement in the landscape that a Crape Myrtle can. They bloom for months with little care on our part to keep them looking spectacular. Its little wonder they hold such a place in our hearts and in our gardens.
– Plant them alone as a specimen accent or in groups for added dramatic flare. With so many varieties, colors and sizes to choose from, no southern garden should be without at least one!
– Crape Myrtles are the perfect touch of color when inter planted in hedge rows for privacy screens or property borders.
– Low maintenance and drought tolerant once established, Crape Myrtles make excellent commercial plantings for parking lots and street trees.
Care of Crape Myrtles:
– Water every day during the establishment period. See watering your newly planted trees for more information.
-They will need good water during the establishment period and supplemental irrigation during dry spells or particularly hot dry summers.
– All Crape Myrtles bloom on new wood and should be pruned in winter or early spring for best bloom.
– Take care to remove basal suckers and small twiggy growth each year on larger specimens and remove crossing or touching branch growth as well as branches growing towards the center rather than the more desirable growth that grows out and away from other branches.
– During the summer growth season you can choose to trim old blooms and your Crape Myrtle will put out a second lighter and slightly smaller bloom to replace it and prolong your bloom season.
– Provide a 1 ft diameter circle of mulched area where grass is kept from growing for each inch of caliper (or diameter) of trunk measured 4 inches from the ground level.
– Fertilize each spring with a heaping shovel of compost or a mixture of Milorganite and a slow release poly coated plant food such as Osmocote or Stay Green general purpose plant food, sprinkling the fertilizer around the mulch circle underneath the foliage of the tree.