At present the streets of Warwick are looking beautiful where the crepe myrtle trees are in full and spectacular flower.
Lagerstroemia is the botanical name and there are around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees native to the Indian subcontinent, South-East Asia and northern Australia.
The native Australian variety, Lagerstroemia archeriana, grows to around 20 foot tall and has pinkish mauve flowers.
Some say the crepe myrtle is the world’s best summer flowering tree which is quite a claim to fame!
It was named after the Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerstom who gave plants he collected to the originator of the botanical classification system, Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s, so they have been around for a while.
Some trees just make wonderful street trees and the crepe myrtle is one of these.
The council should be congratulated on taking advice in years past and planting them and encouraged to make further use of these great trees.
It has a non-invasive root system so does not upset roadways and footpaths, does not grow too large, so does not interfere with overhead wires and is not too wide so it does not obstruct the footpath or scratch parked cars.
The spectacular flowers at this time of year, the fantastic orange, red and brown of the leaves in autumn, the great colour and patterned bark in winter and the bright green spring foliage, are added bonuses.
It really is a tree for all seasons.
The range of colours that has been planted around Warwick streets looks really great.
As I have been driving home in the afternoon recently the plantings have really caught my eye in the late sun.
For all the reasons given above, crepe myrtles also make an ideal small tree for the garden.
The fact that it is deciduous, giving the sun access to the lawn or flower beds during winter, is another star in its crown.
Another point in its favour is that it really performs best with very little pruning, just remove spent flower heads.
However, it can also survive a severe ‘murder’ cut back in winter if this is deemed necessary.
In fact, the only negative I have come across is that they are inclined to sucker if the roots or base of the tree is damaged such as by a line trimmer so care is needed when cleaning around them in the lawn.
Older varieties were susceptible to powdery mildew but the new improved cultivars have largely overcome this problem and given minimum care it thrives in most soil types and situations and flowers prolifically in full sun.
Once established, it is virtually drought resistant and if grown in heavy frost areas it may need some protection until established but otherwise needs very little care.
Like all plants it will perform better if given some TLC in the form of fertiliser and water but is really very tolerant of neglect once established.
On a recent trip from Tamworth I came home via Texas – what a great drive from Manilla. Good road surface, minimal traffic and beautiful scenery.
After a good season the colour in the bush was wonderful.
The variety of greens particularly took my eye, everything from grey blue leaves of the ironbark to the brilliant lime green leaves of a tree I didn’t recognise that had the most spectacular terracotta red trunk. Another tree whose name I don’t know, but that I have seen previously in the Dirranbandi /St. George area, was there also.
It is a tree that grows very tall and has rough black bark for about the first six to 10 feet of its trunk and then is smooth and creamy. Truly a beautiful tree thriving in that area. Both trees grow very large. If anyone recognises either of these from my descriptions I would be very pleased to learn the names.
Just two items of trivia for today: There are more microorganisms in one teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth.
Butterflies are more attracted to smell and nectar than to the colour of flowers so they may be more attracted to the weeds in your garden than the pretty coloured flowers as many new hybridised varieties are bred for colour to the detriment of perfume.
Even though the season recently has been fairly harsh, to say the least, don’t forget the autumn flower show coming to St Mary’s Hall on Wednesday and Thursday, 8 and 9 March.
Pick up a schedule from Bryson’s Place and see what you can find to enter.
*This is an old article which is being digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
