A couple of weeks ago or so, their foliage took on a dark, blackish colour - not attractive, let alone exciting, except in the negative sense that I kept telling myself: no, the plants are fine, don't water them, don't do anything, they're just deciduous shrubs going dormant for the season... That should be sufficient indication of the effect! At any rate, I was quite disappointed in the showing. I solaced myself with remembering how spectacular (and long-lasting) their summer bloom season had been. Reason enough to grow these plants!
But now, after a fairly unsightly spell, they are suddenly sporting much brighter hues.
Most of these pictures show Lagerstroemia indica "Dynamite". It's the larger plant and still has a fair number of leaves. But even tiny L. i. "Rhapsody in Pink" is turning. Most leaves have fallen, but there is a glint of red. This picture shows a few of its leaves against a backdrop of Muhlenbergia blooms. Someday the Crape Myrtle will be bigger than the grass, but that day has not yet arrived!
And again, this one taken late in the day...
So, with these two Lagerstroemias and the Hamelia patens, I do have a touch of autumn foliage in the garden after all. And they coloured up just in time for Garden Bloggers' Foliage Day, hosted by Christina at My Hesperides Garden, where I'm sure there will be quite an assortment of foliage views as it's November!
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 82 F (28 C)/Low: 51 F (11 C)
At least the crape myrtle came through in the end! We've seen almost no fall color either. Our daytime high was 87F but cooler weather - and maybe even a touch or rain - is said to be due here later this week.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how pretty it's turned after being almost black for at least a couple of weeks. It's definitely time you got a cooldown, so I hope the rain and lower temps arrive for you! Ours have gone back up into the eighties, but they had dropped low enough for awhile to give the plants a real respite.
DeleteThanks for your contribution to GBFD Amy. I also plants Lagerstroemia for its autumn colour but mine hardly colour at all, mine don't even flower very well so I'm thinking of moving them this winter. Having seen how fabulous they look in N. Carolina I realised that they do need some humidity in the air even if they are drought tolerant. Lack of autumn colour is the price we pay for stable temperatures isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is, Christina! The plants that give seasonal foliage colour in this climate are few, but I'm trying to ferret some out ;-) My best so far is Hamelia patens (Firebush). Its availability seems to be regionally limited even in the US, so I don't know whether it's made its way beyond; but it does have a lovely warm pink/mahogany colour.
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