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.

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:14:38 -0400, "Apropos"
wrote:

crape myrtle

As usual a simple google search of " crape myrtle yellow florida"
will garner lots of solid information.....

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG26600.pdf

Google is your friend .....:)

http://www.ncan.com/nursery%20notes%...%20AlertNN.pdf



Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a pine, one need only own a shovel.
-- Aldo Leopold

"Apropos" wrote in message
...
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.

Crape Myrtle will do well on normal rainfall without additional irrigation.
One possible reason for the yellowing could be too much water. Orlando was
about 25 inches above normal rainfall just for May and June (!), and you've
had thunderstorms almost every afternoon in July and August. You don't need
irrigation, and hopefully your plants are located where the site drains
satisfactorily before the next storm comes by. Suggest you cut back or
eliminate the irrigation. I have not seen ants to be a problem for crape
myrtles - they're just everywhere in Florida.

Crape Myrtle are extremely hardy -- suggest you just follow good
horticultural procedures. At least 3-4 inches of good mulch (except right
next to the trunk), well drained location, stop the overwatering. Don't
overfertilize, but in Florida expect that time release fertilizer will have
been used up within 60-90 days max. It's better to use smaller amounts,
more frequently, especially with young plants. The University of Florida
IFAS has a good website on crape myrtle at
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/gt/crapemyrtle/crapemyrtle.htm, and your county
extension service has a brochure on growing crape myrtles.

Two other factors with crape myrtle that affect plant health but may be too
late for you to implement -- (1) Try to plant crape myrtle where there is
adequate airflow (ie, not next to a wall or in a corner with no ventilation)
to avoid powdery mildew problems, and (2) IMHO the best cultivars are the
series of releases with American Indian tribe names -- they do very well in
Florida and are mildew-resistant.

Regards --