I said that. But you have way fewer flowers in the Summer if you don't water
them a lot. A trip through West Lake Hills in August is proof of that!

John


"escape" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:48:51 GMT, "Tex John" opined:

The upkeep required on keeping Crapes in tree form is quite a chore, too.
And to get lots of flowers in the summer in Austin, you need to water
them
every day.

This is a myth. They do not require any pruning, ever. They are drought
resistant and can withstand a great period without water if mulched after
spring
rains. They are over watered if you water every day.

However, if you are looking for screening rather than trees, they do make
very colorful and tall bushes! And you don't have to water them at all
once
they are established...but at least a weekly dousing gave me some color.

John


"escape" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:32:33 GMT, "John Baker"
opined:

I am planning on planting some flowering trees along a fence line.
About
seven of them. I was thinking of crepe myrtles. I heard they can grow
fast.

I was also thinking about planting some fruit trees along another
fence
line. I was wondering if anyone has some good suggestions as to what
fruits
grow well in Austin area.

Any ideas would be great. I'm not stuck on the crepe myrtles...i just
want
some color and something that can grow higher than a 6 foot fence.

Thanks,
John


Fruit trees require pruning and maintenance, which is well worth it. I
have a
'Dixieland' peach tree. It has very low chill hour requirements (400),
so
it
does well here and after three years I had a crop of 15 bushels last
summer.
Delicious fruit, but you do have to prune.

Low chill hours means that, the temperature of 45 degrees or less has
to
last
for at least the recommended amount of chill hours. So, in other words,
my
tree
variety of 'Dixieland' requires 400 hours of temperatures below or at
45
degrees
in order to set fruit.

I like Crepe myrtles, but they are not evergreen if you want a screen.
With
fruit, you get to eat what you grow, so I would direct you in that way,
but you
may not want the upkeep required.





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