[MikeHardman]

Fleur,
of-topic: re Lagerstroemia indica:
I have seen some nice specimens in central Texas and in Geneva - both places with decent rainfall and cool/cold temps in winter, and much warmer in summer. So perhaps I shouldn't be surprised to hear you comment favourably about it in a med. climate. I guess I'm surprised it copes with the long hot dry summer. I had it on my wants list, but ruled it out as info sources suggested it preferred acidic soils.

[David Bracey]

L. indica would certainly be in my top ten.  A super plant .  A range of flower colours  and a very attractive smooth grey or light brown bark which flakes  to reveal a reddish brown inner bark.  It can grow into a substantial shrub/tree several metres tall.  Excellent specimen tree.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

I can only tell you that it's so ubiquitous in central Greece that it has a common name - Stratigos (stress on the last syllabel) meaning an army General. However the first time I saw it was in the coastal towns of southern Peloponnese. It needs summer irrigation but no more than anything else. Apart from the lovely flowers the leaves colour in the autumn before falling.

[John J]

Mike, like you I was a bit uncertain about Lagerstroemia but bought 3 varieties of L indica this last winter. As this is their first summer I'll give them extra water to see how they establish and then take it from there. I'll try to remember to let you know how they get on.

[John J]

Of the 3 L indica I bought and planted out this spring this is the first to flower. This is L indica 'Caroline Beauty'. The other 2, L indica 'Rosea Grassi' and L indica 'Violaceae' are beginning to show signs of producing flower buds so I may be able to post photos later.

[MikeHardman]

Nice showing, John. Thanks. I look forward to seeing your others in due course.

[John J]

This is L indica 'Rosea Grassi'. 'Violaceae' has begun to flower but not enough to put on a real show yet.

[MikeHardman]

Very nice John.
That, with your comments, Fleur, have resulted in it going back on my list of wants!

[ritamax]

I had the same doubts, but this summer I saw numerous examples in Toulouse, all in pink, all completely unaffected by the heat and the drought. Toulouse has no high precipitation rate, but they do have sometimes rain in summer, but it is usually also very hot.

[MikeHardman]

Rita, your nice piccies make me think of candyfloss! They also show how amenable Lagerstroemia indica is to pruning. If it were not for its tendency to grow up rather than out, I'd suggest it as a candidate shade tree. However, that leads me to wonder if it could be trained to go sideways to form a broader canopy, by pulling those extension shoots down almost as if it was a rambling rose; I think it might work. Yes, the sideways shoots would give rise to new uprights next year, with the flowers on the top, but I think that would be OK. They, in turn, could be pruned pulled down again, or pruned back.

[ritamax]

Yes, it should be possible to prune it very canopy like, as there are many wonderful photos in internet of the Lagerstroemia as a real tree.

[David Bracey]

From my experience Lagerstroemia is not a plant to prune , maybe to shape.  Annual growth is not excessive and leaders are not that robust.  Much better to let it do its own thing.  It would have to very old to be a good shade tree; there are much better.

[david glen]

Like Mike I have seen Lagerstroemia in Texas, in my case in Austin where it's a very common garden plant.  Austin has extreme summer heat but also very heavy summer showers. Looking at Toulouse's weather averages (Toulouse too is cited as a place where it grows well) I see that it rains there also in the summer (I have experienced downpours there).  The Toulouse plants photographed are trained much as the Austin plants are.

On the other hand here in Tarragona with its more characteristic med weather pattern mine is not doing well. Neither is my neighbour's. Mine is only beginning to flower now like last year, late in August. My neighbour's flowers fall off before they develop.

I pruned mine last autumn and it has taken until this July to show new life, which backs up David Bracey's recommendation not to prune it (but not Mike's remarks). I would agree with David's other remarks.  It appears to be a very slow starter, but worth the wait for the bark etc..

Perhaps this is not a plant for a very dry summer climate.

[John]

You occasionally see it here in the UK and a neighbour has just planted a ready made standard though it rarely if ever flowers as it is said to need hot summers for this. The bark is still just as good though.

[ritamax]

It is written about Lagerstroemia, that it is moderately drought tolerant, but happier with fairly frequent deep watering. It needs full sun, well-drained soil and over-fertilizing reduces flowering. It can be treated like a herbaceous perennial. It should thrive in the Mediterranean climate, if watered regularly.