Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by John Haryasz | Horticulture Writer and Landscape Designer – last update on November 4, 2022

Planting instructions

Although an Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle Tree can grow in partial shade, it will be its healthiest when it lives in an area with full sunlight. The soil in your growing location should have good drainage and be slightly acidic. Once you find such an area, you should dig a hole that is as deep as the root ball is tall and about twice as wide as the root ball. Place your plant in the hole, backfill with nutrient-rich soil and cover the area with a layer of mulch.

Watering and nutrients

After planting your Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle, you should water it multiple times per week during the first growing season to maintain consistent soil moisture. After the first growing season, your Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle will need water about once per week during most of the growing season. Also, it can often go without fertilization but feeding this plant once per year in spring with a balanced fertilizer makes for the best results.

Pollination

Like most crape myrtles, the Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle is a self-fertile plant, meaning that you need only one to conduct pollination successfully. During the summer, this plant will bloom with many bright red flowers that will attract plenty of pollinator insects. Those insects feed on the nectar and are responsible for transferring the pollen. However, you won’t need to worry about pollination with this plant as it does not produce a harvest or fruits that have any ornamental value.

Pruning

Since the Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle sets its flower buds on new wood, you won’t need to worry about accidentally removing any blooms if you prune this plant in late winter. Ideally, you should make your pruning cuts just before the new growth emerges in early spring. At this time, you should remove any branch that is broken, dead or diseased. You can also focus on thinning the canopy to ensure good air circulation. Additionally, you can prune this plant later, during the bloom time, by deadheading any spent flowers you find.

Pests, diseases and animals

Overall, the Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle has decent disease resistance and is particularly well-suited to avoiding diseases related to mold. This is especially true if you thin this plant’s canopy during pruning to prevent excessive moisture build-ups. However, diseases remain a slight possibility for this plant, including powdery mildew and leaf spots. Additionally, you should watch out for pests when caring for an Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle, especially insects like Japanese beetles and aphids.

Achieving maximum results

When pruning an Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle, you should be sure to remove any suckers that emerge from the base of this plant’s trunk and encourage this plant to develop a single trunk and a few main branches. It is also wise to remove any branches that become leggy and grow significantly longer than most of the others. Beyond that, the Enduring Summer Crape Myrtle requires very little special care and will provide beautiful sets of red flower clusters with minimal effort on your part.

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