Current Project: Crepe Myrtle and Bush

In the fall I drug my family to the Houston Japanese Garden.

I wanted to see how they use plants, stone and borrowed landscape typical of south east Texas.  To my enjoyment, they had some very interesting Crepe Myrtles.  These where not the typical lolly pop shaped trees commonly used by landscapers and home owners.  No the artist allowed these unique trees with their beautiful bark to spread out and grow in very interesting ways.

As you can see to the left, the branches shoot out towards the upper horizon as opposed to the usual vertical display.  They are very appealing.

Training a Crepe Myrtle sapling 

Now what I have done, is started the long process of training one of my voluntary crepe myrtles. Using wire, I have begun to distort and reshape this little sapling.  At this point in the season, the fleshy stems are very bendable.  But as the season marches on, they become woody and hard which should allow me to clip the wire off and the stem should maintain  their unique shape.