Crape myrtles provide an unequalled contribution to the early-summer and fall garden. The wide range of sizes and flower color make crape myrtles one of the essential shrubs or small trees of the southern garden. Not only does the foliage put on a nice fall display, in shades of yellow, orange or red, but the attractive peeling bark is also welcome in the winter landscape, as well.

Flower colors run the range from red to purple to pink to white, with some bicolors, while heights range from two feet to over twenty feet tall. Plants may be trained as a multi-trunk clump, or as a single trunk “tree form”.

Planting and Initial Care
Crape myrtles need a sunny location in well-drained soil. Water to ensure adequate moisture, especially when the plants are setting flower buds in the summer. When planting, follow our general planting guidelines contained in our guarantee slip. In addition, fertilize with a  Starter Solution. Follow-up in about two weeks with a good general purpose food, such as Espoma Garden Tone®.

Cultivars
There are many wonderful cultivars of crape myrtle. Of particular note are the National Arboretum hybrids, which were bred for winter hardiness and powdery mildew resistance. This series honors the tribal names of native Americans, such as `Chickasaw’ and `Natchez’.

Plant Groups
Larger Trees grow to 20′ and higher. This group is the best choice for single-or multi-stemmed trees. They make attractive street or driveway trees if pruned into an upright form. They are also nice in groupings or as background plants.

Small Trees/Large Shrubs grow 10′ to 20′ tall. This group is the most versatile for an accent in the landscape. They may be trained to a single stem or multi-stem form.

Shrubs grow 5′ to 10′ tall and range from dwarf types to large shrubs. Trimming in mid-to-late spring will keep these crape myrtles nice and bushy. They’re a good choice for grouping or flowering shrub borders. If carefully selected and sited, they also may be used in foundation plantings.

Dwarf Crape Myrtles reach a height of about 2-3 feet. Our most popular group, these diminutive gems are just the thing for shrub borders in smaller yards or townhouses or for foundation plantings grouped with evergreens. If pruned heavily in the spring, they work well in the sunny perennial border.

Long-Term Care
Once established, feed in the late spring with Espoma Garden Tone®. If a soil test indicates that your soil is low in phosphorus, an early-June application of triple-superphosphate will result in a heavier bloom.

Crape myrtles bloom on current season’s growth, so they may be pruned in the spring and will still bloom that same year. Because they leaf out so late in the season, wait until new leaves appear before pruning out “dead” wood or shaping (mid-to-late May is best). Removing spent blooms will result in continued blooming into the fall. Heavy pruning of branches after blooming ends, however, reduces winter-hardiness.

Crape myrtle cultivars show varying degrees of susceptibility to powdery mildew fungus, and it is the problem that the homeowner is most likely to spot. This disease is particularly evident in the late summer and fall, during periods of cool, dry weather. It appears as a white, cottony growth on the leaves and flowers and can be very unsightly, although it does not greatly harm the plant. Control by selecting resistant varieties, such as the National Arboretum hybrids, or spraying with the currently recommended fungicides. A number of organic products will do a good job of controlling powdery mildew.

Simply stated, the Endless Summer® Collection offers the most extraordinary plants in the world. It’s a big promise and, fortunately, one that the plants can deliver upon.

The collection began with a single plant – Endless Summer The Original. This hydrangea’s remarkable ability to bloom on both old and new wood caused a revolution.

This feature was then inherited by the next plant in the collection – Endless Summer Blushing Bride. This equally stunning hydrangea that featured white mopheads inspired thousands to march down the aisles of their local garden center. Now, the newest addition to the collection, Twist-n-Shout will be the talk of your next garden party.

We are now pleased to present the newest member of the collection, Twist-n-Shout, a reblooming lacecap hydrangea with periwinkle or lipstick pink blossoms.
Both of these plants are incredibly versatile and hardy – performing well all the way to zone 4.

Witchhazel
Through the gray and somber wood
Against the dusk of fir and pine
Last of their floral sisterhood
The hazel’s yellow blossoms shine.

-John G. Whittier (The Hoosier poet…)

Sadly, most American gardeners are more likely to know Witchhazel as a bottle of astringent in their drug cabinet rather than as a beautiful winter blooming shrub. Witchhazel’s beauty is unmatched in the winter landscape, though it is rarely seen in American gardens.

Hamamelis virginiana or the Common Witchhazel is a native shrub scattered throughout the woodlands of eastern North America. It grows into an attractive tree with a beautiful branching habit. This shrub often provides a spectacular display of golden yellow leaves in autumn, followed by subtle saffron yellow flowers with a delicate fresh scent. Because of its large size and habit, the Common Witchhazel is probably best suited to large naturalized areas.

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Fall Back and Relax – Enjoying Fall Color
By Miri Talabac, Woody Plants Manager

While pansies and chrysanthemums are producing multitudes of flowers, arguably the most impressive display lies in autumn leaves. Rich and brilliant hues hidden all season burst forth from trees and shrubs and give the garden that last bit of warmth and energy before winter sets in.

Trees are certainly the best-known landscape plants for fall color, and several species have a veritable confetti of hues in their canopy. The most widely recognized are the maples, with sugar, red, Japanese, and the trifoliate maples all providing brilliant shades of red, scarlet, orange and yellow. The familiar crape myrtles have a similar color range. Less widely known — but equally deserving — are Persian parrotia and sweetgum with plum tones added to the spectrum above. Serviceberries and hawthorns provide smaller-statured alternatives with similar colors of plum-red and orange-yellow.

For somewhat more single-colored options, consider an oak tree. Scarlet, pin, or red oak are favored for their intense scarlet and russet-reds. Black tupelo (a.k.a. black gum) and sourwood also explode in bright red while the leaves of flowering cherries are more of a bronzed red. Dogwood and franklinia each have red to wine-colored fall foliage, with a more purple flush on white ash. Stewartia boasts wine-red to orange; dawn redwood, a deciduous conifer, turns coppery-orange; and witchhazel turns red-orange or gold-orange, depending on the variety. Katsura colors are almost apricot-yellow with a reportedly spicy scent. Beech leaves typically fade to a soft golden-brown or tan as they persist into winter. Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera), a dominant tree in our native forests, sports golden yellow fall foliage. Other regional natives such as yellowwood, fringetree and redbud also turn gold to soft yellow. Ginkgo and whitebarked Himalayan birch flush bright yellow while green ash and linden yellows are more muted.

Many shrubs also provide excellent fall color and should be considered for adding interest beneath trees or in tighter spaces around the yard where they can be appreciated at eye level. Burning bush, perhaps the most recognized for this, is far from the end-all and be-all of shrub fall color. If you love reds, try chokeberry, cotoneaster or nandina, the latter of which may even keep those colorful leaves all through the winter. Oakleaf hydrangeas also hold their plum and wine-red tinged leaves late, often into early winter. Yellow-oranges and red-oranges arise from spiraea and fothergilla. The plum overtones in some varieties of deciduous azaleas are an added bonus. Weigela can carry a variety of colors also, most notably in the cream-and yellow-variegated forms, which become blushed with pink and orange. For something really unusual, try vitex, with leaves that turn mocha-brown with a hint of purple.

Try spicing up the partly shady corners of the garden with the colors of clethra (yellow), itea (burgundy to scarlet), viburnum (plum, wine and scarlet) and leucothoe (evergreen but flushes plum-burgundy). And although most bigleaf hydrangeas don’t have impressive fall color, try the new ‘Lady in Red’ with the promise of burgundy-red infused leaves with red veins. Vines can give you unexpected fall color too – try crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) in sun, where its semi-evergreen leaves turn deep plum with rosy undersides, or climbing hydrangea in shade with its yellow fall foliage.

No matter which colors or combinations suit your tastes, autumnal colors usually show best when mixed with evergreens or used against a green backdrop. Notice how the colors of the fall woods really stand out with the scattering of olive-green and blue-green pines and dark green hollies and hemlocks. Garden conifers such as pines, spruces, junipers, falsecypress and yews and broadleaf evergreens like hollies, cherrylaurel, boxwood and others will greatly enhance fall foliage colors when used in a mixed planting. And you can still mix foliage textures – tuck in perennials where shrubs would be too crowded…grasses with their fine wispy blades, the incised leaves of geraniums, the low, rounded leaves of plumbago and others will color up nicely in autumn. So plant for fall foliage color in the garden and you will be rewarded with a display of color rivaling that any bloom!

By Miri Talabac, Woody Plant Dept. Manager, Beltsville
From Behnkes GardeNews Fall 2008 Newsletter

Many a great garden delights your senses…the sights and scents of colorful flowers and the textures of leaves, the singing of birds, frogs and crickets that move in for the bounty…but what about taste–simple edibility? While edible gardening may conjure up images of orchards, vineyards, or full-fledged farms, it certainly doesn’t have to be that extensive or monothematic.
Even the foundation or structure of the garden–trees, shrubs and vines–can serve both aesthetic and productive functions.

Many have showy flowers and brilliant fall colors. Some are rarely bothered by pests and diseases–especially the varieties derived from native species. In fact, mixing fruiting plants with other ornamentals, rather than keeping them in one area, can reduce disease blights and pest outbreaks. Just as with an ornamental plant, in order to select the best candidates, pay attention to how much sun the area receives (most of these plants need a lot of sun for health and productivity) and soil conditions, plus how much space is available.

Most fruit trees have showy spring flowers and, due to common grafting practices, stay dwarfed and manageable while still producing respectable crops. There are trees small enough to keep on a patio in a large pot, like dwarf peaches, or large enough to cast some shade, like persimmons. Nut trees such as walnut, pecan, hickory and chestnut grow to be large canopy trees that provide a great resource for wildlife and cast shade to cool the house and garden.

Smaller by nature, fruiting shrubs will tuck into garden spaces more easily than dwarf trees and can be even easier to care for. The most well known is probably the blueberry, and with good reason. Spring flowers, vibrant fall foliage and sunset-hued winter stems make them year round attractions in the garden. Raspberries and blackberries can sometimes be thuggish if left to their own devices, rooting about the bed, but their thorns can make a great security barrier. To free up more garden space and make it easier on yourself at harvest time, tie them up to a fence or trellis…the fruit will stay cleaner and be easier to reach. Some new blackberry varieties are more upright growing and thornless.

Fruit bearing vines are a special treat, since you can train them on practically anything convenient in the yard. Fence, arbor, pergola, trellis, wall, an old tree, a deck rail, an old swingset, a motionless sunbather…you get the idea. Grapes are certainly the most recognized and long-grown of these plants. While vineyards have perfected the art and science of grape-growing with cordons and tying and the like, worry not–the process doesn’t have to be so complicated. You needn’t aim for flawlessness, and the plants will perform admirably with less meticulous care.

For the more exotic, some kiwi vines will produce fruit here, but despite public interest they are uncommon due to somewhat invasive tendencies. They may be better suited to city or roof top gardens, where their spread will be limited. One overlooked candidate for a tasty twiner is the passion flower. Passiflora incarnata is native to the southern Chesapeake region. While not always easy to find, they add a welcome flair of the tropical to the garden and the palate.

While selection will vary throughout the year, fall is a great time to plant these trees, shrubs and vines. The soil will still have its summer warmth for good root growth and the cooling air is less stressful to the plants as they prepare for dormancy. With spring and fall deliveries, look for a wide variety of fruiting woody plants.

Common fruit trees offered include peach, nectarine, apricot, apple, cherry, pear, plum, persimmon and fig. Recently we have added some pawpaw and experimented with a few quince, jujube, English walnut and Chinese chestnut. Our regular flowering tree selection includes serviceberry, a native becoming more popular as it produces quantities of sweet berries in early summer. There are shrubby and tree forms of this plant that make great additions to the edible landscape.

Our fruiting shrubs commonly include blueberry, raspberry and blackberry. Occasionally we dabble in more marginal options, like cranberry, currant and gooseberry that prefer cooler summers, or dwarf pomegranate that prefers warmer winters (look for these in the spring instead). Some of the species and native wild roses produce tasty and nutritious hips (seed pods) if their flowers are not removed. Several varieties of the native fox grape, Vitis labrusca, make up most of our fruiting climber selection, with occasional European varieties for those interested in trying their hand at wine-making. Passion flower will be stocked when we can find some, which will most likely be in spring.

Even some non-woody edibles come in the early deliveries of spring and are worth keeping an eye out for: asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries make an early appearance and sell out fast. Asparagus is best left to grow for a couple of seasons before you begin harvest, and the fine, airy foliage texture they provide is well worth scattering about the garden like baby’s breath in a bouquet. Rhubarb makes a great statement with its large leaves and is a great addition for visual impact alone. Strawberries are wonderfully nostalgic spilling out of strawberry jars on a patio or deck, but can be incorporated into the garden mixed with other groundcovers, added to mixed annual hayracks or to window boxes with herbs. They can be more short-lived compared to other fruiting plants, but this gives you more flexibility in placement and experimentation with different varieties.

The most beneficial element of this whole endeavor is, of course, the easily harvestable, tasty, nutritious, money-saving benefit of edible fruits, berries and nuts. You can grow crops as organically as you’d like; there are no gas costs in getting them to your kitchen (if they make it that far!); no bruises from shipping or lackluster flavor from under-ripe disappointments. You can’t get any better than fresh-picked, fruit from your own garden.

Miri Talabac, Woody Plant Dept. Manager, Behnke Nursery Beltsville