Master 3 care tips for potted crape myrtle and it will thrive with lush branches and clusters of blooms

I knew of the crape myrtle flower long before I ever saw one. When I was young, I read Du Mu's poem "Crape Myrtle Flower": "At dawn it greets the autumn dew, one branch new, not vying for the garden's finest spring. What of the speechless peach and plum blossoms? They lean to the wind, laughing at those who bask in the bright sun." I wondered just what kind of flower this crape myrtle really was, that it should earn Du Mu the name Du Ziwei.

Later, I read Bai Juyi's line: "Sitting alone at dusk, who is my companion? The crape myrtle flower faces the crape myrtle gentleman." Toward this flower that faces the crape myrtle gentleman, I felt a layer of longing all the more.

Through the four seasons, however many flowers you see bloom, that many you will see fade. That no flower stays red for a hundred days is a lament for those who admire flowers: a fine flower, blooming on the branch, lovely the first day, at its reddest the second, and by the third it has left the branch and drifted down. Fallen blossoms are the most lamentable of all. Everyone says no flower stays red for a hundred days, yet the crape myrtle alone is the exception.

What people praise most about the crape myrtle is its flowering period. Because it is a deciduous tree, it sprouts very late, putting out new leaves only in April each year, yet it blooms almost as soon as its leaves have grown, and can keep blooming until October, flowering for a full hundred days. Such a long flowering period is rare among the hundred flowers.

The crape myrtle, though named "purple" myrtle, does not come only in purple; it has a profusion of flower colors. The kind with white flowers is called silver crape myrtle, the kind with red flowers is called red crape myrtle, and another kind, emerald crape myrtle, bears flowers of purple with a blue flame hue; all are generally called crape myrtle.

The crape myrtle is also very suitable for growing as a potted plant. Its branches are soft and very easy to bend and shape, and it also has a unique floral fragrance that delights the eye and the heart. Because of its long flowering period, the crape myrtle is also a flower that greatly loves fertilizer. For a potted crape myrtle, the potting soil must have ample base fertilizer, and during the growing season it must be top-dressed in good time, applying a thin liquid fertilizer at least once a month.

For a potted crape myrtle, the flowering period requires a great deal of water, and the potting soil must be kept moist. Generally, in spring and summer, water should be controlled appropriately to prevent the flowering branches from growing too long. After flowering, the branches should also be cut back in good time, generally keeping only one or two leaf buds on each branch, so that the following year brings another cluster of blooms.