
If you’re a fan of beautiful blooms, chances are you’ll love the Sioux Crape Myrtle. This elegant tree is known for its spectacular pink flowers. We have one of these beside our garage and love everything about it. It’s the perfect size for the space and the blooms look amazing against our white painted brick and garage doors. Keep reading to learn all about the Sioux Crape Myrtle and how to care for it!
Where to Plant
When choosing a spot to plant your Sioux crape myrtle, look for an area that gets full sun and has well-drained soil. Since it is a small to medium size tree, it’s fine to plant it close to driveways and sidewalks.
When Does it Bloom?
The Sioux crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica “Sioux”) is an ornamental deciduous shrub that produces an abundance of pretty pink flowers in late summer. This heat-loving plant is native to tropical Asia, but it can be grown successfully in USDA plant hardiness zones 7 through 9. You can expect blooms from July to September, providing a welcome burst of color during the dog days of summer.
One of my favorite features of the Sioux Crap Myrtle is its bark. After the leaves fall off in Fall, the dark outer layer of the bark peels off revealing a lighter color underneath. This creates a beautiful marbled look.
How Big Does it Get?
The Sioux Crape Myrtle will grow to about 12-15 ft tall and can reach out to 8-10 ft wide when it is fully mature. It’s not a super fast grower. So don’t expect it to reach these sizes for a few years. Of course, this also has a lot to do with the size of the tree you buy.
How to Prune the Sioux Crape Myrtle
This tree is relatively easy to care for, and it doesn’t require much pruning to keep it looking its best. If you want the look of a tree, prune off the lower branches up to about 3-4 feet. But if you’re going for more of a shrub appearance, simply leave all of the lower branches. This will allow the crape myrtle to have a full look from the ground up. And when planted in groups they can be used as a privacy screen. But personally, when it comes to Crape Myrtles I prefer the tree look.
If you feel that your crape myrtle is getting too big, you can control the size by pruning the top branches back in late winter. But be careful and avoid crape murder!
And one last pruning tip. If you want the tree to continue to bloom into late summer, simply clip off the bloom pods that remain after flower petals fall off.
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