A plant with an exceptionally long flowering period that blooms for a hundred days without fading, with beautiful flowers and foliage, easy to care for, and suitable for bonsai

Introduction

Potted green plants are essential decorative items for home life; they beautify the room and also delight the mood and nurture the character. Keeping some flowers and plants at home has many benefits. "Huasheng Potted Plant Diary · Issue 1013" introduces you to a flower with an exceptionally long flowering period.

Today's protagonist

There are many ornamental flowering plants known for their long flowering periods, such as Chinese hibiscus, Madagascar periwinkle, Chinese rose, and bougainvillea, all of which bloom repeatedly for more than one season a year, but the flowering period of a single flower usually lasts only a few days. The flower in the picture above is called crape myrtle, cultivated in both northern and southern China, and one blooming can last several months, making it one of the plants with the longest flowering periods.

Crape myrtle

Crape myrtle, also known as Mantanghong, is a deciduous shrub in the Lythraceae family and Lagerstroemia genus, native to China. Its tree form is graceful, the trunk is smooth and clean, and the flower colors are brilliant, including red, purple, and white. The flowers bloom all over the branches, and it is an excellent street tree. In recent centuries it has been introduced around the world and is widely popular.

Exceptionally long flowering period

Crape myrtle has a very long flowering period. Normally it blooms in June (in South China it begins blooming in March), right in the flower-scarce summer season, and once it blooms it lasts for several months, continuing until September. The flowers remain unfaded for a hundred days, hence the name "Hundred-Day Red." There is also the praise, "In midsummer when green shades the eyes, this flower reddens the whole hall," and it is said, "Who says flowers cannot stay red for a hundred days? Crape myrtle keeps blooming for half a year."

An excellent potted plant

Although crape myrtle is a woody shrub, it can certainly be grown in pots. It is cold-resistant and heat-tolerant, and can be grown outdoors in both southern and northern China. It likes light and tolerates slight shade; it likes fertilizer. It grows well in either calcareous soil or acidic soil, but deep, fertile sandy loam is best. It is also drought-tolerant and very easy to keep alive, with a care difficulty similar to ordinary green plants such as pothos and spider plant.

Excellent bonsai material

Crape myrtle can not only be potted, but its tree form is graceful and its trunk is smooth and clean. Since ancient times it has been a very good bonsai tree material, one of the "Eighteen Scholars" of stump bonsai. Bonsai made from crape myrtle are vigorous, simple and unsophisticated, and elegant, with very high ornamental value. Based on these various merits, crape myrtle has been designated as the city flower by many cities in China, such as Anyang, Xuzhou, Jincheng, and Xiangyang.