Apropos wrote:
I have several crape myrlte trees which were planted in late March.

They have been doing great, putting on much growth for young plants
and blooming with colors as expected all summer.

Now, in mid-August, several have some yellow leaves. One has quite
a few and almost no colored blooms left.

What is likely to cause these yellowing leaves? I did a search and
found no mention of yellow leaves on crape myrtles aside from the
change of color in the fall.

There have been a number of ants running up and down the branches.
When I checked the trees after seeing the yellow leaves, there seem
to be more than usual. I'm not sure if this is the cause. I also
don't know what kind of ants they might be; they seem somewhat
small for fire ants.

I've ensured the trees have a lot of water several times a week.
There still is time-release fertilizer on the ground from my last
application a couple months ago. The soil is mostly sandy and I
live in Orlando, FL. The trees get full sun much of the day. It's
been in the lower-mid 90s and high humidity for at least 2 months.

Do I need even MORE water? Do I need some added fertlizer? If so,
what kind? Do I need to cut back on the water? Do I need to kill
the ants? If so, how?

Any information on yellowing of crape myrtles in August in FL would
be useful.

If the leaves are dry and yellow the tree may not have enough water
given the sandy soil. If they are supple and yellow maybe too much
water. I wouldn't have fertilized them until they were well established
if ever.

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Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5