HelpfulGardener.com

Hi everyone,

I got a small pink velour crepe myrtle about 8 weeks ago and I have it in a container outside. I figured it might be a little late to bloom from transplant shock, but since all my neighbors' crepe myrtles have been blooming for weeks now, I feel like it's high time that mine should be, too.

I don't know what the flower buds of crepe myrtles even look like, never having had one before, so it would be great if someone with more crepe experience could tell me if these pictures show actual buds forming or simply new growth. My crepe only gets about 4 hours of full sun a day (the rest is indirect sun), which I know is less than ideal for crepes, but I have limited outdoor space and its current location is the best I've been able to find for maximum sun exposure. I'd just like to know if the amount of sun it's getting IS enough for it to bloom, or if I should get creative and try to figure out another location...
(Sorry for the slightly fuzzy pictures, it was windy.)

Thank you so much!

The little round "pill" looking things are flower buds. I don't know how big your plant is, or how big the container is, but crepe myrtles grow fast. You will need a large container. Yes, more sun would be better, especially for blooming. I can't offer more than that-Good luck with your tree!

Thanks! The buds are getting bigger, but so far no blooms...hopefully next week, maybe. The plant is fairly small, maybe 3 feet tall above-the-soil, and it's in a good-sized container. I'm sure I'll have to re-pot in a year or two, but for now it should be fine. I have the vague notion that by the time my outdoor container plants get so big that containers just won't cut it anymore, I'll have my own house (and presumably my own yard) and I can just plant them in the ground. Thankfully, I have a few years before those dreams will be undoubtedly shattered by the poor economy

Thanks again!

Just to update... Sha-ZAM! Baby blooms! That's the only branch with blooms so far (and they appeared literally overnight - or I guess, more likely, this morning), but the others are heavy with buds so they shouldn't be too far behind. I'm very excited!

(And sorry for the unintentional product placement of potting soil in the background.)

Thanks for your help!

Also, don't know if you know this or not, but after the bloom, you will still have a little round pod on the stems, that will be the seeds that will turn brown & hard.