Choose crape myrtle variety to fit landscape space limits
So far most of my tasting tales from our trip to
Florida have been about restaurants and sweet shops - at the very least, about eating out. Since we didn’t have a home, per se, we basically ate
“out” at every meal. But
“out” doesn’t always mean going to a restaurant - sometimes the restaurant comes to you.
The rehearsal dinner was a smaller affair, as these tend to be, and almost everyone invited had a role in the wedding ceremony - or was attached to someone who did - except us. Thus, we were elected as the setup crew for this event.
The Mother-of-the-Bride had it all arranged: a diagram of the room, tablecloths, centerpiece decor laid out as she wanted it, and a deal with the venue to use their electric candles. At most every event I’ve ever been a part of planning, there was a decorating committee, and I wasn’t on it; this night I was in charge of putting on the tablecloths. That kept me out of trouble.
When it came to the food, though, I was more curious. I’ve never been a caterer, but I watch the catering crew with interest anytime I’m around one. Maybe, when I grow up, I can be the next Brian Michaels. The meal was catered by Moe’s Southwest Grill. “Welcome to Moe’s,” and all that. In this case, the dude from Moe’s (known to my in-laws by his first name - so yeah, it was clear they were into Moe’s) brought everything in, set it up, lit the sterno, and took off. Again, not a lot for us to do but put ice in cups and pour drinks.
The buffet was set up much like it would be in a Moe’s restaurant - chicken, beef, rice, two kinds of beans, salsas, tortillas and chips. Enough variety to make everybody happy but not necessarily everything you’d get while eating in. And the chips. Never seen so many tortilla chips in one place in my life. Enormous bags of chips. And a word about the drinks. For reasons I can’t fully explain, the most popular drinks of the night were root beer and ginger ale. Not your typical pairings with Mexican-ish food. But if the people like it, the people like it.
I’d say the same thing about the food. I might not have picked Moe’s for a rehearsal dinner, but if it means something to the couple, then why not? The Wife and I had Little Dooey pulled pork at our rehearsal dinner (my folks brought it to North Carolina on dry ice) because I was the groom, I was in charge of the dinner, and it meant something to me. So I understand.
The dinner at Niece’s wedding, now that I look back at it, was actually similar to our Little
Dooey dinner. They had pork pernil, we had pulled pork. They had smashed potatoes, we had roasted potatoes and veggies. They had bacon and tomato mac and cheese, we had tricolor slaw. Okay, so not everything matched up exactly, but we had it going for a minute.
Pork pernil is a Puerto Rican style slowroasted pork shoulder, which involves garlic, sofrito (a sauce that is apparently used as a base in many Latin dishes) and a lot of time. Not prep time, necessarily, but time cooking at a low heat. At the end, however, the heat is cranked up to give the skin a nice crispness. I’ve done pork shoulder a lot of different ways, and this method resulted in an incredibly moist and flavor-rich final product. The prep (according to most of the recipes I studied after the fact) reminded me a lot of a slowcooker pork I make often, which involves only a few bacon strips, salt and pepper, and whole garlic cloves stuffed into cuts I make in the shoulder. I’ve never made a sofrito before, but something tells me it’s in my future.
Unfortunately, I was one of the last people at the wedding to actually try this food. After the ceremony, we were standing around waiting for pictures to be made and the caterers to put on the finishing touches for serving. I happened to be standing near Mother-of-the-Bride when the wedding coordinator asked, “Where are the wedding cakes?” Eyes big, jaws on the floor, they realized the cakes were still at the bakery they’d been ordered from, about a half hour’s drive from where we were standing.
Much like the rehearsal, Uncle Jay had the least amount of responsibility for basically anything that was swirling around me, so I volunteered to make the trek. Cake wasn’t scheduled for another two hours - plenty of time to make the trip to Publix.
Lest you think I’m about to tell a story about how I didn’t make it back in time, or got lost, or picked up the wrong cakes…it’s not that exciting. I got there, loaded all eight cakes safely in the vehicle, and made it back with time to spare. Even time to eat dinner before the next thing started.
Did you notice I said “eight cakes?” That’s right. The happy couple decided to do things a little different, and as someone who thrives on variety, I thought it was brilliant.
All the cakes were round layer cakes, each a different flavor: red velvet, carrot, chantilly, strawberry limonata, chocolate lover’s, dulce de leche, and at least one more that I’ve forgotten. Niece and Nephew-in-Law (is that right?) cut into the prettiest one (and best tasting, IMHO), called Raspberry Elegance. Did I try more than one variety? Well, of course I did. I figured I’d earned it.
I love crape myrtles in the landscape. They flower all summer, and their beautiful exfoliating and peeling bark exposes cinnamon-brown trunks in the winter. It’s no wonder that somebody way back when called them the Flowers of the South.
For the past few years, yours truly -- The Southern Gardener -- and many of my horticulture friends and colleagues have been trying to address what seems to be a growing issue revolving around the annual pruning of crape myrtles. The issue is so bad, it’s commonly called Crape Murder. This is where a tree is continuously cut back to the same place year after year, resulting in big, ugly knobs.
It is amazing the interest generated when photos of this massacre are shared with the world on social media. One memorable Facebook post showed a row of murdered crape myrtles less than a minute from my office in Biloxi. This image generated 146,000 views, 1,000 and 500 new likes.
I don’t think all those people were cheering, although I may be wrong. If you’re interested in some tips on properly pruning crape myrtles, enjoy our Southern Gardening TV segment, http://extension.msstate.edu/ southern-gardening/video/2018/ crape-murder, which is a crape myrtle parody.
With a sad heart, I’ve now come to a stunning landscape and garden realization: This is a hopeless cause. I’m not going to highlight crape murder when I see it in the landscape. No longer will I have any angst and the overwhelming urge to yell, “Stop the Crap, Save the Crapes!”
I’ve concluded that there’s no saving the trees already planted. My new campaign will urge potential new crape myrtle owners to choose wisely in regards to mature landscape size.
The problem is that any shred of self-control instantly vanishes when shopping at the nursery and seeing the trees in shares bloom with spectacular flowers in colors ranging from white, to shades of pink and purple, to rich reds. It’s similar to looking at a cute new puppy; you don’t ask how big it will get until you get home.
But home gardeners need to ask this very question before buying a nursery-grown crape myrtle. You don’t need to prune a crape myrtle to control its size. Instead, choose the right plant before planting to fit the space. This is the step many gardeners neglect.
There seem to be a bazillion varieties of crape myrtles on the market, and more are introduced every year. So, there’s plenty from which to choose wisely. You won’t have to settle for something you don’t actually like.
One new crape myrtle I’ve been growing for more than two years is Infiniti Watermelon from Proven Winners. This is a true dwarf that reaches only about 18 inches tall. It is perfectly fine growing in an 8-inch terra cotta pot, and it is right at home on the patio table or displayed in the landscape.
These is one more problem I want to remind all crape myrtle owners about. Be on the lookout for crape myrtle bark scale, or CMBS. This insect pest has been reported in Ocean Springs, Natchez and other locations across Mississippi.
CMBS exudes a sticky “honeydew” that rains down on the branches and any other surface below. I’ve experienced it, and it feels like being out in a fine, misting rain.
To manage this pest, apply systemic insecticides to the plant root zone during May and July. Systemic insecticides include dinotefuran (Greenlight Tree and Shrub Insect Control with Safari) and imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Garden Tree and Shrub Insect Control). Allow several weeks for these insecticides to work because they must spread through the plant.
So, for now, the only controversy I’m going to care about is whether this wonderful tree is spelled crape or crepe.