RE: Lagerstroemia in coastal central California (minor correction)

Cheryl and Jason,

The most commonly planted Crape myrtle tree varieties
in the coastal bay area  are usually the x
fauriei/indica hybrids, named after various Indian
tribes, as mentioned previously.  I have one in my
Berkeley garden which blooms vigorously in a warm
summer, and only so so in a typical cooler one.  The
one I have is 'Tuscarora' which is a magenta/deep pink
in color.  They do much better near Lake Merritt,
Oakland where it is warmer in the days; night time
temperatures do not seem to be the critical factor
here in northern California, as they are fully hardy
to our worst cold.  I would suggest that they are less
than satisfactory bloomers anywhere the summer day
time highs are below 75F on average, but do great just
over the hills in Orinda...

The dwarf shrubby blooming Lagerstroemias are more
reliable bloomers in cool summer areas.  It is amusing
to me to see how they are also used as freeway median
shrubs in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, where they bloom, but
are not covered in bloom as they would be back home. 
Here they appear more like my own tree in Berkeley,
with only scattered bloom at branch tips only.

There are also some fantastically beautiful tropical
species such as L. speciosa, L. floribunda and L. flos
reginae, with much larger blooms that more closely
resemble a Paulownia flower spike, in deep magenta to 
paler pink color, and are virtually everblooming here.
 I saw a truly huge specimen almost 80 feet tall at
Peradeniya Botanic Garden outside Kandy, Sri Lanka.  I
understand in South Florida they have a hybrid between
L. indica and L. speciosa which I would like to try
growing to see if it is a good candidate for
California conditions...  I have never seen it offered
for sale in California, and am not sure if it has any
more tolerance to winter cold and wet due to the
indica influence.


--- Cheryl Renshaw <cheryl@wr-architect.com> wrote:
> Whoops, I knew I should have checked this. The other
> Lagerstroemia species
> used in the arboretum hybridization program is L.
> fauriei. L. 'Kiowa' is one
> of the hybrids based entirely on L. fauriei. All the
> arboretum crape myrtle
> introductions are named for Native American tribes
> (Catawba, Kiowa, Natchez,
> Tuskarora, etc.).


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