Have you noticed the hundreds of beautiful crepe myrtles blooming this time of the year all around the city and county? This is certainly the tree that I would recommend to be the “Hinesville City Tree.”
The common crepe myrtle from China and Korea was introduced around 1790 to Charleston, S.C., by the French botanist Andre Michaux. Now they are grown extensively all over the United States. The spelling of crepe myrtle comes from the texture of the petals, which are like crepe fabric. Others spell it crape myrtle. The genus name is lagerstroemia. This is the name we called them years ago and most older people still do. We pronounced it “legger streamer.”
Originally, crepe myrtles were grown as large shrubs but during the past 200 years they have developed a huge number of varying characteristics. In size, they range from a large tree down to a hanging basket.
Most businesses use them for landscaping because they’re such dependable trees and produce showy flowers for a long time. Even in the winter when the trees are bare, the bark is beautiful.
The first time I saw a crepe myrtle was more than 50 years ago. It was growing in Key Howard’s front yard in Long County. This was an amazing tree to me and I thought it was an enormous rose tree. It was filled with hundreds of pretty pink flowers. A storm blew the tree down that same year and it was pulled down to the old tobacco beds. Many trees came up around the old stump. Maybe they came from the seeds that fell into the ground. The stump stayed there for many years before it rotted.
If you want a fast growing shrub or tree that will produce well and look lovely in your yard, plant crepe myrtles. This is one that even a novice gardener can grow. In the meantime, drive around our area and observe the many beautiful trees that are blooming now.
The common crepe myrtle from China and Korea was introduced around 1790 to Charleston, S.C., by the French botanist Andre Michaux. Now they are grown extensively all over the United States. The spelling of crepe myrtle comes from the texture of the petals, which are like crepe fabric. Others spell it crape myrtle. The genus name is lagerstroemia. This is the name we called them years ago and most older people still do. We pronounced it “legger streamer.”
Originally, crepe myrtles were grown as large shrubs but during the past 200 years they have developed a huge number of varying characteristics. In size, they range from a large tree down to a hanging basket.
Most businesses use them for landscaping because they’re such dependable trees and produce showy flowers for a long time. Even in the winter when the trees are bare, the bark is beautiful.
The first time I saw a crepe myrtle was more than 50 years ago. It was growing in Key Howard’s front yard in Long County. This was an amazing tree to me and I thought it was an enormous rose tree. It was filled with hundreds of pretty pink flowers. A storm blew the tree down that same year and it was pulled down to the old tobacco beds. Many trees came up around the old stump. Maybe they came from the seeds that fell into the ground. The stump stayed there for many years before it rotted.
If you want a fast growing shrub or tree that will produce well and look lovely in your yard, plant crepe myrtles. This is one that even a novice gardener can grow. In the meantime, drive around our area and observe the many beautiful trees that are blooming now.