My front crepe myrtle has a very bad case of powdery mildew. It had it last
year, too, and never flowered. How do I stop this cycle? Someone posted
something about using a milk solution. Does this work? I bought some
really nasty stuff last year that required me to wear protective clothing
and a ventilator when I applied it. Supposedly it killed everything. It
didn't appear to work and, given that almost everything else I use is
environmentally-reasonable, I'd rather not use that again.



Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Chris

On Mon, 03 May 2004 13:56:57 GMT, "Chris" opined:

My front crepe myrtle has a very bad case of powdery mildew. It had it last
year, too, and never flowered. How do I stop this cycle? Someone posted
something about using a milk solution. Does this work? I bought some
really nasty stuff last year that required me to wear protective clothing
and a ventilator when I applied it. Supposedly it killed everything. It
didn't appear to work and, given that almost everything else I use is
environmentally-reasonable, I'd rather not use that again.



Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Chris


Yes, you can mix a cup of dry skim milk in a gallon of water and spray all the
foliage, not forgetting the undersides of leaves. The lactic acid in the milk
lowers the pH on the surface of the leave, making it inhospitable to the
pathogen. You can use liquid milk also, but then I would use 2 cups to a gallon
of water.

"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 03 May 2004 13:56:57 GMT, "Chris" opined:

My front crepe myrtle has a very bad case of powdery mildew. It had it
last
year, too, and never flowered. How do I stop this cycle? Someone
posted
something about using a milk solution. Does this work? I bought some
really nasty stuff last year that required me to wear protective clothing
and a ventilator when I applied it. Supposedly it killed everything. It
didn't appear to work and, given that almost everything else I use is
environmentally-reasonable, I'd rather not use that again.



Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Chris


Yes, you can mix a cup of dry skim milk in a gallon of water and spray all
the
foliage, not forgetting the undersides of leaves. The lactic acid in the
milk
lowers the pH on the surface of the leave, making it inhospitable to the
pathogen. You can use liquid milk also, but then I would use 2 cups to a
gallon
of water.


Great, thanks. I just coated the tree with about nearly 1.5 gallons of
water with 0.5 gallon of milk added (total 2 gallons). Hopefully that will
stop this nonesense.
Chris

"Chris" wrote in message
...

"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 03 May 2004 13:56:57 GMT, "Chris" opined:

My front crepe myrtle has a very bad case of powdery mildew. It had it
last
year, too, and never flowered. How do I stop this cycle? Someone
posted
something about using a milk solution. Does this work? I bought some
really nasty stuff last year that required me to wear protective
clothing
and a ventilator when I applied it. Supposedly it killed everything.
It
didn't appear to work and, given that almost everything else I use is
environmentally-reasonable, I'd rather not use that again.



Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Chris


Yes, you can mix a cup of dry skim milk in a gallon of water and spray
all
the
foliage, not forgetting the undersides of leaves. The lactic acid in
the
milk
lowers the pH on the surface of the leave, making it inhospitable to the
pathogen. You can use liquid milk also, but then I would use 2 cups to
a
gallon
of water.


Great, thanks. I just coated the tree with about nearly 1.5 gallons of
water with 0.5 gallon of milk added (total 2 gallons). Hopefully that
will
stop this nonesense.
Chris

If that doesn't work you can also mix 1 tsp of baking soda per gal of water.
It works on the same principal. Mildew and fungus can only live in a narrow
PH range. Changing the PH a bit, either up or down, will kill it.

BTW, the reason your shrub didn't flower last year probably doesn't have to
do with the mildew. Flowing shrubs will only flower on new growth. So if
the shrub has reached it's maximum height it will stop blooming. If this is
the case, you'll need to prune the shrub back to get it to flower again.

"RoyDMercer" wrote in message
...

If that doesn't work you can also mix 1 tsp of baking soda per gal of
water.
It works on the same principal. Mildew and fungus can only live in a
narrow
PH range. Changing the PH a bit, either up or down, will kill it.

BTW, the reason your shrub didn't flower last year probably doesn't have
to
do with the mildew. Flowing shrubs will only flower on new growth. So if
the shrub has reached it's maximum height it will stop blooming. If this
is
the case, you'll need to prune the shrub back to get it to flower again.



Great info, thanks very much Roy.

I did trim it back during the winter like the others. I can't recall what
they call it officially but it's basically "topping" the trees. I do it to
all my crepes.
Chris

"Chris" wrote in message
...

"RoyDMercer" wrote in message
...

If that doesn't work you can also mix 1 tsp of baking soda per gal of
water.
It works on the same principal. Mildew and fungus can only live in a
narrow
PH range. Changing the PH a bit, either up or down, will kill it.

BTW, the reason your shrub didn't flower last year probably doesn't have
to
do with the mildew. Flowing shrubs will only flower on new growth. So
if
the shrub has reached it's maximum height it will stop blooming. If
this
is
the case, you'll need to prune the shrub back to get it to flower again.



Great info, thanks very much Roy.

I did trim it back during the winter like the others. I can't recall what
they call it officially but it's basically "topping" the trees. I do it
to
all my crepes.
Chris

Try giving them some fertilizer which is very high in phosphorous (the
middle number) relative to the other numbers (nitrogen and potassium).
Phosphorous is very important in blooming. Flowering shrubs need copious
amounts of it to bloom well.

On Tue, 04 May 2004 00:37:44 GMT, "Chris" opined:


Great, thanks. I just coated the tree with about nearly 1.5 gallons of
water with 0.5 gallon of milk added (total 2 gallons). Hopefully that will
stop this nonesense.
Chris


Powdery mildew is a huge problem with certain crape myrtles. It happens more to
the plants which are in stress. If you cut your crapes back in winter to the
nubs you see everywhere around town, I recommend you stop. It could very well
be the causation of the problem and it is not necessary.

On Mon, 3 May 2004 20:07:30 -0500, "RoyDMercer"
opined:

If that doesn't work you can also mix 1 tsp of baking soda per gal of water.
It works on the same principal. Mildew and fungus can only live in a narrow
PH range. Changing the PH a bit, either up or down, will kill it.

BTW, the reason your shrub didn't flower last year probably doesn't have to
do with the mildew. Flowing shrubs will only flower on new growth. So if
the shrub has reached it's maximum height it will stop blooming. If this is
the case, you'll need to prune the shrub back to get it to flower again.


You are not giving the correct rate of baking soda. It's much more than that.
Like 4 tablespoons in a gallon of water.

On the flowering, there are crape myrtles all over the place where I live and
many of them are 25 feet tall and flower magnificently. I only prune out dead
wood, branches growing toward the center and anything which touches another
branch and mine flower beautifully. There will always be new growth on them
without those harsh pruning practices.

On Tue, 04 May 2004 02:16:56 GMT, "Chris" opined:


Great info, thanks very much Roy.

I did trim it back during the winter like the others. I can't recall what
they call it officially but it's basically "topping" the trees. I do it to
all my crepes.
Chris


That's one of your problems. In Texas it's known as crape murder!


http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/crape.html
Read this:

"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 May 2004 20:07:30 -0500, "RoyDMercer"

opined:

If that doesn't work you can also mix 1 tsp of baking soda per gal of
water.
It works on the same principal. Mildew and fungus can only live in a
narrow
PH range. Changing the PH a bit, either up or down, will kill it.

BTW, the reason your shrub didn't flower last year probably doesn't have
to
do with the mildew. Flowing shrubs will only flower on new growth. So
if
the shrub has reached it's maximum height it will stop blooming. If this
is
the case, you'll need to prune the shrub back to get it to flower again.


You are not giving the correct rate of baking soda. It's much more than
that.
Like 4 tablespoons in a gallon of water.

On the flowering, there are crape myrtles all over the place where I live
and
many of them are 25 feet tall and flower magnificently. I only prune out
dead
wood, branches growing toward the center and anything which touches
another
branch and mine flower beautifully. There will always be new growth on
them
without those harsh pruning practices.

I should have said 1 teaspoon per quart of water. 4 tablespoons per gallon
seems excessive to me. If you are using that much, you could start to
affect the PH of the soil, which is not a good thing unless your soil is
very acidic to begin with.

Crape Myrtles will bloom very well as you say if you are lightly pruning
them each year. However if you let them go they will eventually stop
blooming. The state of Oklahoma planted hundres of Crape Myrtles all along
the southern section of I-35. They are never pruned and they have stopped
blooming almost completely.

"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 04 May 2004 02:16:56 GMT, "Chris" opined:


Great info, thanks very much Roy.

I did trim it back during the winter like the others. I can't recall
what
they call it officially but it's basically "topping" the trees. I do it
to
all my crepes.
Chris


That's one of your problems. In Texas it's known as crape murder!


http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/crape.html
Read this:

The author of the article named it poorly because topping a Crape will not
kill it. It also won't necessarily injure the plant forever. When pruned
back almost to the ground, a Crape will always send out new shooters which
will eventually turn into new trunks. Sometimes when a shrub has been
neglected for years, the best and easiest way to correct the problem is to
prune back almost to the ground. The best way to take care of a Crape
Myrtle, or practically any flowering shrub, is to prune it lightly each year
retaining the natural shape of the plant.

On Mon, 03 May 2004 13:56:57 GMT, "Chris" wrote:

My front crepe myrtle has a very bad case of powdery mildew. It had it last
year, too, and never flowered. How do I stop this cycle? Someone posted
something about using a milk solution. Does this work? I bought some
really nasty stuff last year that required me to wear protective clothing
and a ventilator when I applied it. Supposedly it killed everything. It
didn't appear to work and, given that almost everything else I use is
environmentally-reasonable, I'd rather not use that again.



Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Chris


Well, I disagree with almost everything Roy has said about pruning
crapes. I never prune mine ( full grown when I moved in 10 years ago,
probably 40 years old or more total) except to remove root sprouts,
the occasional dead branch, and low limbs that hit the house or poke
my eye. They are close to 25' tall (i.e., they ain't getting much
taller) and they always bloom well.

Topping is a brutal practice--not "murder" perhaps, but it will
drastically shorten the life of the plant. When you remove all the
plant's energy reserves every year, you deplete stored starches and
sugars to the point they can no longer afford to make flowers--they're
just struggling to survive. Thin out the cluster of sprouts that grow
this year, but leave 2 or 3 strong whips on each stub, and let them
develop into branches over time. Don't top anymore and leave the poor
things alone and they'll recover eventually. Yes, I know some people
top annually and still get lots of blooms. The great irony is that
these amazingly tough plants manage to survive the worst we dish out
and then we use it as an excuse to continue bad practices.

Now, if you want to cut down to the ground periodically and create a
big bushy cluster of sprouts, more power to you, but IMO the best
thing about crapes is the intricate branch structure and the smooth
trunks with flaking bark. The whips that come off the ground take
years to reach a point where you can enjoy these features.

As for fertilizer, most Austin soil has too much P and K already, and
our creeks are suffering from the runoff of excessive fertilizer
applied by overzealous homeowners. The bigger problem is our high pH
(we're sitting on a big chunk of limestone, basically). Iron.
magnesium, calcium, etc. can bind with each other/other soil
components, making these micronutrients unavailable to the plant. A
sprinkling of epsom salt can add a bit of Mg to the soil and improve
blooming. Still, I would not recommend any fertilizer unless/until
you get a quality soil test that shows some deficiency, and then only
with a fertilizer designed to address only that deficiency. Don't use
the A&M soil tests--they use HCl to test in an assembly-line method,
and the results are skewed because of that (in effect, the acid
negates the problems caused by the high pH and your test will show
elements that are in the soil but not available to the plants).

Good luck,

Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist
For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www.isa-arbor.com/home.asp.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www.treesaregood.com/

RoyDMercer wrote:
them each year. However if you let them go they will eventually stop
blooming. The state of Oklahoma planted hundres of Crape Myrtles all along
the southern section of I-35. They are never pruned and they have stopped
blooming almost completely.

That's funny. My neighbor's crape mirtles have never been pruned
(they're over 25 ft tall) and they bloom beautifully each year.

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"Victor Martinez" wrote in message
...
RoyDMercer wrote:
them each year. However if you let them go they will eventually stop
blooming. The state of Oklahoma planted hundres of Crape Myrtles all
along
the southern section of I-35. They are never pruned and they have
stopped
blooming almost completely.

That's funny. My neighbor's crape mirtles have never been pruned
(they're over 25 ft tall) and they bloom beautifully each year.

There are literally hundreds of cultivars of Crepes and not all of them
behave the same. My mom has one so tall it's as high as the power lines and
it blooms each year (without pruning) also. Crepes which are that large are
really more of a tree and tend to behave a bit differently than the lower
habit shrubs which are more typical.

On Wed, 5 May 2004 08:01:27 -0500, "RoyDMercer"
opined:

I should have said 1 teaspoon per quart of water. 4 tablespoons per gallon
seems excessive to me. If you are using that much, you could start to
affect the PH of the soil, which is not a good thing unless your soil is
very acidic to begin with.

Crape Myrtles will bloom very well as you say if you are lightly pruning
them each year. However if you let them go they will eventually stop
blooming. The state of Oklahoma planted hundres of Crape Myrtles all along
the southern section of I-35. They are never pruned and they have stopped
blooming almost completely.


They are not blooming because I highly doubt the state fertilizes it's highways.
That is why they are not blooming. Not because they are not pruned.