Dogwood Tree

Adding color and texture to your home's exterior is possible with proper landscape design. While choosing flowers and shrubs is challenging, incorporating trees into the design can also be overwhelming due to the different options available. Available in a variety of colors including white, red, and purple, the crepe myrtle tree is an excellent option for your landscape design. Using these tips, you can plant and care for your new crepe myrtle tree.

Planting

Many varieties of the crepe myrtle can grow up to 12 or 15 feet, so keep this in mind when finding a location for your new tree. Be sure its location receives ample amount of full sun, as well.

Remove the soil of the location, digging a hole about 3 times the size of the tree's root. Place the root ball into the hole and surround with damp soil, packing it in tightly around the base of the tree. Cover the tree base with mulch or pine straw to lock in moisture. Be sure to water the tree immediately after planting.

Care

Your crepe myrtle will need a good amount of water after planting and through the years. If you are planting the tree in the summer, water daily until established. If planting in the cooler seasons, water a few times each week.

Your crepe myrtle will require a good deal to become fully established, but you will need to prune the tree the following winter. Use shears to remove dead growth the last few weeks of winter. Pruning in the late winter allows room for new growth to bloom in the spring and summer.

Color, appeal, and value are all elements of the crepe myrtle tree. Using this guide, your landscape design will be complete.