Backyard & hedge favourites
Crepe Myrtle
Lagerstroemia indica
The crepe myrtle earns its place twice a year: showers of crinkled summer flowers when most trees have finished, then bare winter branches so smooth and sculptural they look polished. It's one of the most planted small trees in Melbourne's front gardens, and one Jordan works on constantly.
How to spot a crepe myrtle
Flowers
Frilly clusters at the branch tips through summer, in pinks, purples, reds or white. Each petal is crinkled like crepe paper, which is where the name comes from.
Bark
The winter giveaway. Smooth and cool to the touch, shedding in patches to a mottle of cinnamon, pink and grey on gently fluted trunks.
Form
A small tree, usually 3 to 8 metres, often multi-stemmed with a vase shape. Frequently planted in pairs or rows along driveways and fences.
Seed capsules
Small round capsules follow the flowers and hang on into winter, splitting into star shapes when ripe.
Autumn
Leaves turn orange to red before dropping, a bonus show from a summer-flowering tree.
Where you'll see it around the south east
Front gardens and driveways across Armadale, Malvern and the wider inner east, plus newer landscaping everywhere from Hawthorn townhouses to bayside renovations. The Indian Summer cultivar series has made them a default choice for compact gardens.
Worth knowing
Crepe myrtles flower on the current season's growth, at the very tips of new branches, which is a handy identification cue in summer: the colour always sits on the outside of the crown. The species has been cultivated in China for over a thousand years.
Easily confused with
In flower, nothing else in a Melbourne garden looks like it. In winter, the smooth mottled trunk can be mistaken for a small gum at a glance, but crepe myrtle bark is finer-grained, and the seed capsules at the tips settle it.
Think this is your tree? Or still not sure?
Either way, a couple of photos in the quote form is all Jordan needs to identify it. Every tree is different, so what yours needs is always assessed in person, never from a guide.
Your trees deserve expert care.
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