I've had a crepe myrtle for 10 years that has never flowered. It is full of buds, but the buds never open to bloom. The tree looks healthy and would be beautiful if the blooms would open to flowers.
The tree is in a west location in the middle of the yard and it gets sun from mid-morning to night. It is watered once to twice a week (although during rainy periods it receives more water than that). Is there a flowerless variety that I happen to have, or can I take some action to get my crepe myrtle to flower?
Hardiness Zone: 9a
By Rosie from New Port Richey, FL
I'm not sure, but it sounds like either too much or not enough water. Call your local nursery and ask them. They know the right information for your climate.
I would have your soil test and the results discussed with a horticulturist. It may be a plant that requires specific minerals or soil conditions in order to bloom, or some plants require 2 to propagate each other.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have two crepe myrtles, they are around 7 yeas old, they have never bloomed. I have fertilized, fed, etc. over the last five years. They are beautiful trees, just no blooms. I need some ideas as to what else I might try.
Hardiness Zone: 7a
By Debi from Greenwood, MS
Stop fertilizing and watering as much, and make sure they are getting full sun. I have read that a handful of epsom salts around the base of the shrub/tree will induce bloom.
I bought 4 crepe myrtle trees, about 7 ft tall. It looks like they are in shock and all of the leaves & flowers died. I only missed one day of watering, and am continuing to water daily.
They are still in pots. I live in Western Gardening zone 9. Please advise.
They may be ready for a larger pot, or planting in the ground.
What can I use to make my crepe myrtle trees bloom? I've tried a variety of fertilizers with no luck.
Did you recently prune your tree? If the crape myrtle was pruned in late spring, normally it won't flower. You should never prune the crape myrtles once they start growing in spring.
Trim them back, signifiantly. Feed them some Miracle Grow (or similar food). They are much prettier if you keep them trimmed as a bush - not a tree.
If you pruned them at the wrong time, they won't bloom. Either prune them in the early spring before they bloom, or after they finish blooming.
No!!! Do not Crêpe murder them. I have wondered why some of mine bloom and some dont. I pass by 3 20 foot crêpe myrtles everyday that are basically growing nearly the alley of these people's homes. They bloom the whole season and are full. There 4 crepe myrtles in the next block, I know the home homeowner, she does not fetilize, she waters them seldom and never prunes or clears out old growth. After reading site after site about this problem, I think, maybe, we myrtle lovers, over "tend" our trees. They might be an ornamental tree that would prefer a little neglect. And looking back to the first crêpe myrtle I had, I was newly married and 25, ran my own business.
Well, that wasn't the answer for Tennessee and Kentucky summer of 2021.
Huge 20 foot tall trees didn't bloom.
I rode down full streets all over the county and no blooms.
I have 4 mature and 2 young different color crepe myrtle trees that only bloomed a handful of flowers. In previous years they produced massive quantities of blooms. My myrtles show no signs of any distress. I am so confused and upset. What happened?
By Jilly B from Vidor, TX
Hi you might want to try some tree food stakes or talk with someone at the closest Lowe's garden center they should be able to help you out with that.
I have a creeping myrtle that is slowly dying. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
By mindy from Terrebonne, OR
I too have had that problem. I removed the tree from it location to discover the root system had enveloped itself and was suffocating the plant. I cut and loosened the root ball and stuck it in a large pot with some good quality potting mix.
Will bone meal help it bloom? When can I use bone meal?
By T. M.
Our crape myrtle trees are 3 years old. It is August and they have no flowers and the leaves are falling off. What can we do for them?
By Barbara Hollo from Longs, SC
I planted a crepe myrtle tree about 3 years ago. It has grown in size and is probably about 9 feet tall now. However, it has never bloomed. It had flowers when we first got the tree, but after that they never came back. Do I need to prune the tree in order for it to bloom? I get sad every year when it doesn't bloom.
By Katie W.
I have a very large Crepe Myrtle that doesn't bloom much, but it's very tall and not bushy at all. What's the problem. My other Crepes didn't bloom much this summer either.
Hardiness Zone: 7b
Shelah from Spring City, TN
The second most common reason Crepe myrtles fail to bloom is a lack of sun. These trees need a lot of sunshine if you want them to bloom. Are there any trees nearby that may have grown up and around your Crepe myrtle and are blocking some sun?
Is your tree otherwise healthy? Do you see any signs of insect damage or disease? Stress from either can be enough to prevent your tree from blooming.
Is your tree getting too much nitrogen or not enough phosphorus? Trees in the middle of a chemically treated lawn or near garden beds that are heavily fertilized may be getting too much of a good thing when it comes to nitrogen. This promotes healthy leaves, but inhibits flowering. Try adding a little bit of bonemeal as mulch around the tree. This will add phosphorus to the soil over time and you don't have to worry about overdoing it.
Ellen
My crepe myrtle is not making blooms.
By Patsy H from Greenfield, MO
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Our Crepe Myrtle trees are 6 or 7 years old, but only bloom occasionally. The trees are full of buds, but they never open. We water the trees weekly.
