Also known as "Lilac of the South" due to its popularity in zones 7 to 9, crape myrtle is a deciduous shrub or small tree that explodes with white, deep rose, or magenta blossoms from July to ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Now’s the time of year you’re most likely to see naked crape myrtle trees, the unfortunate consequence of improper wintertime ...

Although native to eastern Asia, crape myrtles are indispensable in the Southern landscape. Its vibrantly colored flowers in shades of pink, purple, red and white from May to September virtually ...

One plant that is a standout in the summer landscape is the crape myrtle, making it one of the most popular landscape plants in the southeastern United States. Most of its popularity is from the crepe ...

Somehow, the belief that crape myrtles should be brutally pruned by cutting off their tops persists, even though it's inaccurate. Crape murder is a term that has been coined to describe this severe ...

Crepe myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, vary in size from dwarf shrubs to multi-trunked and single-trunk trees growing to 30 feet tall. Most varieties produce beautiful blooms starting in spring or ...

Years of improper pruning have taken their toll on this crape myrtle tree. (Alan Windham, University of Tennessee) QUESTION: While visiting a local mall, I noticed the crape myrtles had all been cut ...

Left, the winged seeds of crape myrtle; and right, an American goldfinch feeding on crape myrtle seed. (Image courtesy Gary Graves) Each year from summer into fall, ornamental crape myrtle trees in ...

correctionIn an earlier version of this article, the last name of a Smithsonian Gardens arborist was incorrectly stated. He is Jacob Hendee, not Jacob Hender. The article has been corrected. Spring ...

Now’s the time of year you’re most likely to see naked crape myrtle trees, the unfortunate consequence of improper wintertime pruning. The practice has even been given a not-so-affectionate nickname: ...

This improperly pruned crape myrtle tree has undergone “crape murder,” which is when the entire crown of the crape myrtle tree is cut off. Courtesy of Leaf & Limb, a Raleigh-based tree care company ...